Ponce Hall East at Flagler College closed for school year
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla — Forty-six newly remodeled rooms were destroyed by a water leak in the historic Ponce de Leon Hall building at Flagler College, according to an email to students.
Also called Ponce Hall, the building has been standing since 1888 and is a national historic landmark.
Ponce Hall East will be closed for the entirety of the 2022-2023 due to the leak, which occured during renovations which intended to install new flooring, paint, light fixtures and furniture, the email said. The leak came from a fire response system.
Students who had planned to live in Ponce Hall East will now be staying in Lewis Hall.
While Ponce Hall East is closed, Flagler will fix damages from the leak and implement renovations to “further enhance the physical space.”
Flagler College President John Delaney wrote in the email that he is confident students will find their new assignment “comfortable.”
Ponce de Leon Hall was once a hotel called Hotel Ponce de Leon, commissioned by Henry Flagler, the college’s namesake. It was one of the stations first electrified buildings, according to historians.
