IU to pay $113.5 million for dorm renovations

The IU board of trustees approved a five-year plan to upgrade housing for 2,000 students at an estimated cost of $113.5 million Friday at the board of trustees meeting on the IU-Purdue University Indianapolis campus. \nThe renovations call for the construction of a new housing facility at the former Ashton Complex and the conversion of Forest and Briscoe dorm rooms to suite-style housing.\n"It''''s time to create some new housing and the kind of housing we think students will want," said Larry MacIntyre, IU’s director of media relations. \nThe plan will be implemented in two phases, according to a Dec. 7 press release. The first phase will be the construction of a new facility at the former Ashton Complex site at 10th and Union streets. Construction could begin in early spring, MacIntyre said. This phase must be completed within a year-and-a-half before the University can begin the second phase of the project, MacIntyre said. \nThe second phase will transition the current dorm rooms in Briscoe and Forest to suite-style housing, according to the press release. Those facilities currently hold 2,080 beds with the traditional dorm rooms, but that number will decrease to 1,200 when the dorm rooms are converted to suites. The new beds in Ashton will compensate for the reduced number of beds in Briscoe and Forest, according to the press release. \nThe plan is a result of President McRobbie''''s desire to upgrade student housing. IU has done much to improve the learning environment on the Bloomington campus, but living arrangements – specifically student housing – have remained largely unchanged since the 1960s, McRobbie said in his Oct. 18 inaugural address. \n"If we are to attract and retain the best students in the state and the nation, we must ensure that both environments are of the highest quality," McRobbie said in the address. \nMcRobbie also said he plans to upgrade all of the residence halls at the Bloomington campus over the next 15 years. \nIU decided to change the current dorm rooms to suite style rooms as a result of student demand. IU hired Brailsford & Dunlavey Facility Planners and Program Managers to conduct a market analysis, said Pat Connor, executive director of Residential Projects and Services. The group looked at factors such as current enrollment patterns and determined the dorm rooms do not meet students'''' demands, Connor said. \nSuite-style housing could consist of two double rooms or two single rooms that share a bathroom, Connor said. Suites that share a bathroom may also share a common space similar to a living room, he said. There would still be a community lounge on each floor, but the suite style rooms would most likely not include kitchens, Connor said. \nSome of the rooms in the new Ashton complex might be built as apartments with amenities students would expect to see in off-campus apartments, such as kitchens, Connor said. These issues have not been finalized, Connor said. \n"The plan is to come back to the next trustees'''' meeting with the next step," Connor said. \nOther Big Ten universities have recently built new residential facilities with suite-style rooms. The University of Wisconsin built two new building with all suite-style rooms, and Penn State opened a new building three years ago with all single rooms and private bathrooms, Connor said. \nIU will sell bonds to banks to pay the estimated $113.5 million price tag on the five-year plan, MacIntyre said. He doesn''''t think the upgrade will result in a significant increase in residential fees. \n"I suspect fees will slowly increase, but there''''s not going to be a big jump," MacIntyre said.