Following the end of the Spring 2010 term, the University will begin construction on the East Campus Residence Hall, a new dormitory building located off of Moss Street behind Knight Law School.
The 451-bed residence hall is part of a University effort to attract more students to on-campus housing.
In fall 2009, University Housing reported that 16.5 percent of University students resided in student living facilities and University hopes to bolster this figure to 25 percent in a long-term campaign to upgrade dormitories. The University hopes the future residents of East Campus Hall will consist of 10 to 15 percent upperclassmen and the rest freshman and transfer students.
The designs for the building indicate the University is trying to move away from the conventional double-roomed corridor style halls and will instead offer students a broader variety of living space choices. Common spaces will also be a heavily emphasized facet of the building, and the University plans to assign a full time librarian to work in a learning commons facility to aid students with their school work.
“Our residence halls are quite old,” Student Activities Director Gregg Lobisser told the Daily Journal of Commerce. “Rooms can be as small as 150 square feet for a double room. That’s not enough space. Students today want all of the amenities.”
In 2006, the Living-Learning Center was the first new dormitory to be built on campus since the 1960s and served as the initial salvo to the University’s renovation efforts. This time around, the University is hoping to construct living quarters that not only serve as places for students to eat and sleep but to build residence halls that imbue a strong sense of community.
“I think a university’s housing stock affects recruitment and also retention through graduation,” Lobisser said. “You want to have critical mass. It’s about belonging. Having more students living on campus contributes to the educational dialogue.”
Among the unique features planned for the East Campus Hall, the University also intends to construct classrooms within the building as well as a scholar’s apartment where a full-tenured faculty member will live.
“We’re taking an approach that will make student life and residential life seamless,” Lobisser said. “There are 168 hours in a week. The goal is to keep students learning throughout the entire day.”
The East Campus Residence Hall, which is slated for completion in July 2012, will cost a projected $71.5 million. Plans for the building were solidified in February when the Oregon State Senate passed Bill 5564, which permitted the state to sell $75 million in bonds to fund the project.
The University plans to repay these bonds through student housing revenues, as rooms in East Campus will be $700-800 more than a standard double room in one of the other buildings.
Once students are able to move into the new residence hall, the University will take advantage of extra room in the older dorms to begin similar renovations to those buildings.
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