SOMERS — Incoming freshmen weren’t quite sure what to expect when they moved in Sunday to the new suites at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.

When Quinn Groessl, 18, of Algoma, visited campus last May, his new home away from home was still under construction. His mom, Joan Groessl, wondered if the new suite-style residence hall would be ready in time for the fall semester.

“It looked like this was not going to be habitable. There were holes where the windows were supposed to be,” she said.

But the building was shiny and new, every brick in place and the elevator padded with protective blankets, as Groessl and dozens of other freshmen moved in Sunday at the Pike River Suites. An estimated 180 students will live in the hall this year. The rest were expected to move in Tuesday. Classes begin Wednesday.

In a traditional dormitory, up to 25 students share a central bathroom and showers, and two students share a room. In the suites, four or five students share one bathroom. Two students still share a room, but the rooms are more spacious, and some are singles. The building can house up to 250 students.

Mitch Groessl piled his son’s belongings on the curb as he waited outside the new building.

Quinn got a new microwave and a new mini-refrigerator. His clothes were vacuum-packed in bags in two plastic bins with wheels, which his dad strategically stacked on the old television from home.

“You get to carry your Dew,” Joan Groessl said, eyeing the green 24-pack of Mountain Dew on the sidewalk.

“She can carry the Victoria Secret box the towels came in,” Quinn suggested, grimacing at the bright pink box nearby.

Quinn had a double room but no roommate. And he didn’t have a clue what his room would look like.

“It’s a new experience,” he said.

Once inside, he was impressed.

Outside his door, sofas and chairs were arranged around a flat-screen, wall-mounted television. Around the corner, tables and chairs were set up for a study space overlooking the campus. There was a kitchenette in between, with a sink and a microwave.

Inside his room, Quinn was amazed at the open, white-walled accommodations, which included two beds, two dressers and two desks, filing cabinets and chairs.

“They have nice computer chairs, too,” he said. “I was expecting smaller ones that weren’t as nice. I like it a lot.”

Anna Scott, 18, of Grafton was similarly shocked and awed by her single room.

“The room is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be,” she said. “ But that’s good. I brought a lot of stuff. I wasn’t sure where I’d put it all.”

Her parents, Andy and Alina Scott, were impressed, too.

“It’s beautiful that she can move into the new building,” Alina Scott said. “We’re spoiled.”

Anna’s mother carefully wheeled a kitchen cart through the new lobby. The cart came from home. After all, Andy Scott said, “The cheapest shopping is, ‘Mom, can I have this?’ ”

But many other items in Anna’s room were found last-minute at stores, including her flowered black, white and red bedspread, which she chose to break the blue, blue and more blue theme of her bedroom at home.

In the room, she weighed where to put her television (at the foot of the bed), the coffee maker (near the door) and her new mini-fridge (next to her desk).

“You don’t want the refrigerator next to your bed,” her dad said.

“Why?” Anna asked, before shifting her thoughts back to all the space in her room. “There’s so much wall space. I’m going to have to get more stuff. It’s so white. I thought I’d have room for two pictures.”