“Our housing inventory across campus is a little worn … and needs some rehabilitation,” he said. “But to do that we need to have beds to move people into.”
Construction on the building will begin March 12, according to the website.
The $32,600,000 project has been in the works for about a year, Bloom said. During that time, they have gained approval from the Board of Regents for the project and for the schematic design.
One of the main goals in designing the building was to create a sustainable, high performance facility,he said. To do this, they are making sure the building will utilize the campus’ heating and cooling system and use low-flow faucets and showerheads.
“There will be some treatments on the windows to help cool from solar radiation,” Bloom said. “We’ve provided for daylighting - bringing more natural light farther into the building.”
The university will also set aside a piece of land that will remain undeveloped in exchange for taking up space with the new building, he said.
“As we take a piece of this land and lock it up in a building, we have found another piece of undeveloped land that we will set aside in perpetuity to remain undeveloped space,” Bloom said. “This is one of our programs for all of our new buildings on campus. If we take up 10 sq. ft. of new building, we identify 10 sq. ft. of undeveloped land that becomes part of the landscape — the green inventory, if you will.”
The new residence hall will provide space for between 295 and 305 beds, according to the project’s website. The building will be erected in the parking lot between MacGregor Hall and Streit Hall.
“I think (the residence hall is) going to bring another gem into WSU’s inventory of residential housing and give us an opportunity to get on top of some of our aging inventory,” Bloom said.
