ST. LOUIS—Saint Louis University has decided to move forward with a campus housing master plan that will result in new residence halls and extensive renovations to existing facilities. School officials recently completed a detailed study that they say included considerable student input and concluded that new and improved student housing is needed.
"It's important that the residential experience on our campus reflects the expectations of a highly ranked national university," says SLU's vice president for student development Kent Porterfield. "The demand for on-campus housing is increasing, and we know that having our students living on campus contributes to success in and out of the classroom."
Universities across the US have taken similar steps. Since the 1990s, student housing has come into its own as a real estate sector as an increasing number of schools have built large highly amenitized facilities to replace old-fashioned dorms. Few now consider it a niche market.
For Phase 1 of its proposed multi-phase plan, SLU will commission the construction of two new residence halls on the Frost campus; the renovation of the Griesedieck complex, which includes Walsh and Clemens Halls; and the conversion of SLU's Water Tower Inn at the Medical Center into graduate housing.
Preliminary planning for the first phase has already begun. As the planning process moves forward, school officials say additional student input will be sought.
An oversight committee that includes student representation will determine the details for Phase 1 — including design, scope and budget. The committee will work in conjunction with SLU's architectural and construction partners, Hastings+Chivetta Architects, Inc., and McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. Construction could begin early as next spring.
The St. Louis-based McCarthy is one of the most significant builders in the region. As reported in GlobeSt.com, for example, McCarthy was hired to replace the Joplin, MO hospital destroyed by a deadly tornado with the $335 million, 875,000-square-foot Mercy Hospital Joplin. In addition, earlier this year it broke ground on a $37 million expansion project for Capital Region Medical Center, an affiliate of the University of Missouri Healthcare System.
The first new residence hall should open in August 2016, followed by the second in August 2017. And the builders should complete the renovation of the Griesedieck Complex by August 2019. The new graduate student housing should open in August 2016.
The Division of Student Development, assisted by Chicago-based firm Brailsford & Dunlavey, led the master planning process. Currently, more than 40% of SLU's undergraduates live on campus. Porterfield says he expects that number to increase to more than 50% once they complete the first phase.
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
