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WSU wants upscale student housing

Shawn Vestal
Staff writer
March 25, 2008

Washington State University is getting ready to start building the first new dorms on the Pullman campus in 37 years, as part of a 10-year, $200 million plan to improve student housing.

WSU’s Board of Regents approved the new $26 million residence hall Friday at a meeting in the Tri-Cities. It’s one piece of a plan to replace older, larger dorm buildings on campus with seven new ones that are smaller and offer students more styles of housing, said Barry Johnston, associate vice president for business and finance.

“We have needed to do more with our residence halls,” he said. “There’s been a lot done, but it’s a very big system, and we have an on-campus population of approximately 4,000 students.”

Like a lot of colleges, WSU is revamping the old-school dorm experience, providing more comforts and amenities for students with less tolerance for group bathrooms and cafeteria buffets.

In recent years, WSU has changed its dining halls to several “platforms” offering cooked-to-order meals. The old-school dorm room is being replaced by residence halls that include options such as suites and apartment-style amenities, expanded public spaces, and high-tech infrastructure.

“Expectations are higher from our student population that come from middle class or upper-class families,” Johnston said. “They certainly have not had to share bathrooms in their 18 years of growth.”

Construction on the new Olympia Avenue residence hall should begin in the spring, with opening set for fall 2009. The new hall will add just 229 beds to the campus – added to more than 4,000 currently -- and school officials said it’s meant to improve the housing offerings more than dramatically expanding the number of rooms.

It will include single rooms, shared suites and other options. WSU will use bonding and student fees to pay for the construction.

In the next several years, WSU plans to add six similar residence halls and tear down some old ones. In 2012, the school plans to add three new halls and to shut down Gannon-Goldsworthy Hall, he said, with another three buildings planned for 2013.

WSU officials say the new dorms will be structured around the school’s efforts to keep students in school and reduce dropouts, which puts students into living arrangements with classmates studying similar subjects. The idea is to create stronger connections among new students and to link their living arrangements with their academic life more closely.

WSU has been renovating and refurbishing residence halls in recent years and plans to continue renovations as part of the upcoming 10-year plan, Johnston said.

The last new residence hall built on campus was McEachran Hall in 1971.

Shawn Vestal can be reached at (509) 459-5431 or shawnv@spokesman.com.

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