What started out as an impromptu housing overflow solution has ended up a beloved home.

O’Brien House, formerly the O’Brien Alumni Center, is now a dormitory for freshman women.

“It didn’t start out as specialty housing,” said O’Brien House Resident Advisor Loretta Kojak. “It’s just a solution to make up for the overflow of freshmen girls.”

Currently, there are 14 girls in nine bedrooms with space to spare.

“If we really need more spaces, some of the rooms are large enough to be triples,” Kojak said.

While there is room, no plans have been made, yet, to increase the number of residents.

“We’re going to use every available space in the system to de-triple,” said Leonard Jones, director of Residence Life.

Jones added that Room Change Night will occur sometime in September. This will be an opportunity for students to change rooms with department approval.

O’Brien House has air conditioning window units on the first and second floors, and the third floor has a central air conditioning system.

In a previous interview, Assistant Vice President Denise Taylor explained that the O’Brien House is similar to the language houses on Laclede Avenue. Those houses include full kitchens, storage spaces for dishes, living rooms and new showers and bathrooms-things the dormitories may not have.

“There are not very many people here, and since it’s a house, it makes you feel more at home,” added freshman resident Laura Ruhland.

Diana Kingston, another freshman resident, said, “I love living here. It’s like a house-like being at home.”

Kingston said the only downfall so far is the lack of a washer and a dryer in the building.

Renovations, which began in July, are almost complete.

“Everything’s pretty much ready. There are just some small details like hooks in the bathrooms and getting the doorbell fixed,” Kojak said. “They’re still working on finishing the fire-alarm system. Right now, we have battery-operated smoke detectors.”

Another thing still in process is the security system. According to Jones, a swipe-card system will be in place sometime this week.

Currently, the residents have their own keys to the front door. However, there was some concern when the door was found unlocked.

“Normally it’s locked at all times,” explained Kojak in response to the security.