Spelman College cleared a hurdle Tuesday to finance its first new residence hall in nearly two decades.

The historically Black college received approval from a Fulton County board to access federal bond financing to build a new 670-bed dorm. The project is part of an effort to house more students on its Atlanta campus and phase out aging residence halls that lack air conditioning.

“This is our first new residential hall in several years,” Dawn Alston, vice president for business and financial affairs at Spelman College, told the Development Authority of Fulton County board Tuesday . “It will be updated, modernized and will really speak to the student experience on Spelman’s campus.”

Spelman, one of the historically Black colleges and universities that comprise the Atlanta University

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