Bolles Begins Expansion of Girls’ Residence Hall

Construction is underway in Phase II of The Bolles School’s Llura “Lulie” Gund ’58 Residence Hall for Girls at the Bolles Upper School San Jose Campus.

The City of Jacksonville issued a building permit last month for renovations of the second floor of Bolles Hall’s south wing, currently housing classrooms and staff offices, into “dorm rooms, dorm parent apartments and student support areas” – a $4.2 million project, according to the permit.

The project will create 22 new living spaces and a common area to be called Lulie Commons. In total, between the new dorm space, new common areas, new Resident Life family apartments and covered porches, this renovation will add nearly 15,000 square feet to Liggett Hall, the girls’ residence hall.

This expansion is made possible by Gordon Gund and his sons, Grant and Zack, in honor of his late wife, Llura “Lulie” Liggett Gund. Gund made his gift to Bolles in 2021, which allowed female students to live on campus for the first time in the school’s history. His wife, an alumna of Bolles from the class of 1958, passed away in 2020.

Bolles Chief Advancement Officer Carol Nimitz said this expansion has been several years coming and has already had emotional and cultural impacts on Bolles’ Resident Life students.

“Each day, we get to see the spirit of the Gund family’s gift reflected in the happy and motivated faces of our Resident Life students – it’s a living tribute to Lulie’s inspiring spirit and their incredible generosity,” Nimitz said. “This is truly a time of great progress and enthusiasm at Bolles, as the dream the Gund family helped shape nearly four years ago continues to take form.”

The Bolles Resident Life is the boarding program for students living on campus. According to Bolles President and Head of School Tyler Hodges, the Resident Life program will welcome boarders from 12 states and nearly 40 countries and territories, including India, Guatemala, Australia and the Bahamas for the 2025-26 school year.

“As the community looks ahead to the opening of Liggett Hall in 2026, The Bolles School remains deeply grateful to the Gund family for their generosity and unwavering belief in the power of education,” Hodges said. “Their legacy continues to shape the future of Bolles – one student, one story and one lasting connection at a time.”

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