Briar Cliff University reopens Toller Hall amid rising enrollment

SIOUX CITY (KTIV) - Briar Cliff is reopening Toller Hall to meet growing housing needs for the 2026-2027 academic year.

Back in March 2023, the university announced plans to tear down Toller Hall and replace it with a new College of Health and Equity building. That was set to be completed in May 2025, but Toller Hall was never torn down.

Dr. Brian Peterson, the Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Briar Cliff, said that those plans went up in the air and the university decided to put everything on hold until plans were more firmly in place.

Now, with enrollment up, Briar Cliff was able to use the facility to make space for an uptick in students.

“It’s a new opportunity for Briar Cliff that I think this is something that the entire Siouxland community should look at and say, ‘This is something that is positive for everybody’. More students here means more students in the community, means positive growth for everybody,” said Peterson.

When enrollment started climbing in June, the university realized it needed more housing. Crews immediately started cleaning up one floor of Toller Hall and finished the first week of August.

“Right now we are enjoying the enrollment growth and we’re going to see where that takes us. The College of Health and Equity can be built elsewhere. Additional residence hall space can be built elsewhere,” said Peterson. “So right now we’re going to wait and see what happens over the next couple of years with enrollment and then we’ll make decisions on exactly what new construction comes next.”

About 30 rooms were opened on one floor of Toller Hall. Not all are occupied, which allows the university some extra flexibility.

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