Residence hall construction remains on schedule

The new residence hall on the corner of Culver Street and Highway 24/50 is nearing completion on time and under budget, according to Director of Residential Living and Learning Dennis Koch. The three story, 250+ bed structure will open in August, in time for the Fall 2011 semester, and will be open mainly to freshmen.

There is another residence hall planned for construction next year, although the exact location of the hall is unknown. The proposed hall, which will house 500 beds, could sit where the Science Building parking lot is currently situated. Neither buildings have names yet.

"The university is looking at the cost of [the second building]," Koch said. "The Science Building parking lot is one of the spots they're looking at. There are a couple other options on the table right now. Most of those are being looked at as far as the cost variance as far as demolition, rerouting of power, utility lines, all those things people sometimes forget have to happen before construction begins."

Wherever the second residence hall will be located, it will require new parking.

"There will be additional parking for a new building with 500 beds," Koch said. "I almost guarantee that you won't see a parking garage on campus, though. They cost more that what you would expect, and typically the return on investment is not there."

The state budget crisis will deeply affect Texas A&M University-Commerce, but the construction on new residence halls will go on as planned as long as there is the population to support them.

"The plan is tied with the increased enrollment," Koch said. "We can't have empty space on campus. As enrollment continues to grow, we're looking into phase three and four. We're not sure which phase will be apartments. That will all depend on how the population grows in the next few years."

As opposed to other buildings on campus, new residence halls have a quick return on the investment.

"The building pays for itself," Koch said. "When we have tenants in there, that pays for the loan. Unlike an academic building where there is no income being generated by the building, its just part of the university budget. With housing, each building has to generate it's own funds to pay for its loan."

For instance, once the second residence hall is completed, the freshman may all be housed there, leaving the first residence hall open for sophomores. But Koch isn't committing to anything just yet.

"We don't want to say anything definite because we don't want to disappoint anybody," he said. "We want to be flexible so we can cater to the population we have and not the population we thought we'd have. I think that's the best way to serve students."

Other projects include deferred maintenance on current residence halls, a possible renovation of Smith and Berry Hall, replacement of the roof on Whitley, elevator renovations and new landscaping for New Pride.

"We try to be proactive," Koch said. "We have a number of these projects in the hopper, so as money becomes available, we're able to spend it in a priority sense and not in a reactionary sense. It's more of a proactive long-range planning as opposed to reactive, short-range planning."