In order to attend the demand of on-campus housing, UW- Eau Claire plans to build new ‘suite style’ residence halls on upper campus, as part of its 20-year Master Plan for the university.
“At present we are at 108 percent capacity. We have students living in hotels off campus, RAs with roommates and students in overflow rooms,” said Mike Rindo, the university’s spokesperson. “Our first priority is to get them in on campus housing and then we will look into renovation of some of the older halls.”
Rindo said the Master Plan has two main objectives for the new housing. The first is to get students out of the hotels and the second is to de-densify the current residence halls, he said. The construction for the new accommodation is planned for the spring of 2013 and is pegged for completion by 2015.
Under the Master Plan, Rindo said, the new halls will be built where the Governors Hall parking lot and tennis courts are currently situated on upper campus. There are also talks of building additional housing on upper campus and the remodeling of some of the older halls of residence, he said.
In addition to this, the Master plan hopes for a new science building to be built where Katherine Thomas and Putnam halls are currently situated, Rindo said, meaning that a smaller hall would also be built on lower campus to accommodate some of the bed loss. This too would be in the new apartment style allowing students to have more choice about the kind of accommodations they live in.
“For the past 15-20 years there has been a greater demand for university-sponsored housing than I have had beds for,” said Charles Major, director of Housing and Residence Life. “Our first priority is to build one or two new halls on upper campus, depending on the footprints, which would allow a relief on the hotels and the use of overflow rooms.”
Major said the estimated cost for the new housing will be between $40-56 million, depending on the size. The project will be funded through bonding, meaning students will see a small increase of around $100 in housing costs starting next fall, he said.
Currently, there are 4,000 students living in university sponsored housing and with the addition of new residence halls this number would increase to around 4,350, Major said. This would allow more than 150 students living in the hotels to live on campus.
Omar Diaz, an international student from Mexico, currently lives in one of the hotels and although he doesn’t mind living there because “there is more privacy,” he said he wishes he was on campus.
“I work at Hilltop and I’m not really looking forward to walking back to the hotel on winter nights,” he said. “I really like the idea of the suite style halls because it would give me some more of the privacy the hotels offer, with the convenience and community spirit of campus life.”
A student survey on housing demand in 2010 showed that in addition to wanting a greater amount of housing they also wanted more options about the kind of housing they could live in. The new suite style buildings will be similar in style to Chancellors Hall, but they will be lacking a kitchen, Rindo said. The plans would mean less bedroom space but more privacy and diversity of choice.
“I feel like raising the capacity of student housing is only putting a Band-Aid on the problem,” said Claire Walthour, an RA in Bridgman Hall. “That will accommodate for the students in hotels and overflow rooms, but what about the increase in people who want university accommodation?”
As part of the university master plans, The Hilltop Center is also going to be renovated. Major said that this will “involve moving some of the recreational facilities to the Crest center, although plans are still being looked over.”
As well as room in the dining areas, some students are worried about room for their cars. Ashley Baker, a junior who lives in Sutherland Hall, said she thinks the plan is a great idea and the university needs new dorms, but parking might be an issue.
“I am worried about parking, though. There is already not enough room in the Towers lot and people have to park off campus,” she said. “With the addition of campus housing there is going to be an even greater demand.”
