Ball State will be able to house 450 more students with a new residence hall that could begin construction as early as this fall.
The new residence hall will be located north of the DeHority Halls complex, Director of Housing and Residence Life Alan Hargrave said.
This is the first housing addition to Ball State since the Johnson Complex was completed in 1969.
"Since most of the residence halls were built in the late 1950s, they're experiencing the same maintenance problems at the same time," Hargrave said.
Recent renovations have helped with housing, he said. However, as Ball State's attendance grows, so does its housing needs.
Last semester, 6,256 students chose to live in one of Ball State's six housing complexes, Hargrave said.
Ball State saw a steady increase in students living on campus in the last four years, he said.
"We're not in a housing crisis," Hargrave said, "but sooner is better than later. We have to constantly plan for the future."
According to a university press release, the new building will be funded by the sale of housing and dining facility revenue bonds.
The new building is likely to have a premium attached to the housing costs for students, Hargrave said. The premium cost has not been determined, he said.
Last December, the board of trustees approved the hiring of two architecture firms: CSO Architects, Engineers and Interiors of Indianapolis and Solomon, Cordwell and Buenz based in Chicago.
CSO worked on the new music building, Hargrave said. The firm has also designed buildings for DePauw University.
Solomon, Cordwell and Buenz has designed residence halls at University of Illinois at Chicago and Springfield and Northwestern University.
The architecture firms will begin designing the new residence hall by conducting surveys of the campus and the neighborhood surrounding the DeHority Halls complex.
At the moment, there are no definite design plans for the new dorm.
Ball State does have suggestions for the new dorm based on a 2001 survey by the consulting firm Anderson Strickler, Hargrave said.
The firm surveyed students about the housing features they like the most. The firm found the remodeling necessary to meet students' needs would be too costly but that funds would be better used to invest in a new residence hall.
Suggestions include air-conditioning, stackable furniture, built-in closets, double-occupancy and single-occupancy rooms with semi-private bathrooms and community space where students can mingle, Hargrave said.
The new residence hall will be co-ed most likely, he said. Whether floors will be mixed gender, like the Baker and Klipple halls in the Noyer Complex, depends on room configurations, he said.
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