East Stroudsburg University's Monroe Hall, which is being renovated for the past year will have a new purpose when it opens this fall. The empty hall is being turned into a state-of-the-art classroom.

The renovation worth $ 8.5 million funded by the state government will modify the hall into classroom space for University's Speech Pathology and Audiology Program and Speech Communications Program, reports Pocono Record.

Monroe hall, built in 1938, is the pride of East Stroudsburg University. It has been an empty room for past five years, before which it had served as an all-boys residence hall.

When the state instructed the school to install sprinklers throughout the residence hall, the university officials decided to vacate it in 2007 as installing sprinklers would not be cost-effective. Now, the renovated hall will have a better cause to serve.

"The building was in horrible condition. We totally refinished the building, all the wood has been replaced, the roof, the mechanical system, and it will have a geothermal heating and cooling system", said Rich Staneski ESU's Vice-President of Finance and Administration.

Because of such energy-saving systems, the building has received an LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certification which recognizes Environmental-friendly buildings.

The external appearance of the building still looks the same, save some of the small changes such as inclusion of handicapped-accessible ramp and doors.

The inside of the building has modified into four classrooms, an auditorium with a seating capacity of 102 students, four conference rooms, 20 private office spaces as well as 2 computer labs and a clinic area for patients receiving hearing tests as part of the University's program, which was previously held just 51 dorm rooms and a resident adviser's apartment.

The University officials are looking forward to move the students into the hall once the renovation is completed around fall.