By Lauren Moeller

One of the most visible additions to campus is a residence hall that will house graduate students upon its projected completion in the spring of 2008. The new building is located in front of the student center.

Construction on the building began last October. The 80,000 square-foot building is in the shape of an “L.”

Unlike the New Complex, which currently houses graduate students and consists of suites with mostly double rooms, common lounge and semi-private bathrooms, the still-unnamed residence hall will resemble apartments with single bedrooms, a common living area and a kitchen area in each suite.

The new suites will house up to four students, but no less than two. In the style of most of the other buildings on campus, with the exception of Liberty and Republic, the new building will have a brick façade.

With five floors, it will accommodate up to 225 graduate students.

According to Joseph Barkwill, vice president for facilities and operations in the Plant Department, the $23 million building took the place of what was mostly a walkway to the towers. “There wasn’t exactly many parking spots taken…it was more of a walkway that tied in Constitution to the back, and there was some grass area,” Barkwill said. The parking lot next to the construction site was avoided as best as possible, resulting in the removal of few parking spots, he added.

“It’s already hard enough to get a parking spot close to the student center, and I really hate parking all the way down near the dome in order to park on the residential side,” said commuter student Andrew Monaco, a sophomore English major. “They say they want commuters to feel like part of the school, but building more dorms is making it harder for us to find parking and making it less enjoyable to go there everyday.”

According to Barkwill, the majority of the heavy construction was done in June, July, and August. “At first the noise [of the construction] was annoying, but I think I’ve gotten used to it,” said Dave Malik, a sophomore who lives in Constitution.

The only complaints received by the Plant Department were regarding dust and noise at the beginning of the project, Barkwill said.

“I think that it shows that the university is growing and I like that,” Andres Soto, a junior composing major, said.

The exterior of the building should be finished by November, and after that most construction would continue inside, reducing the noise for the remainder of the school year. “There’s always a need for graduate housing; students want to go to school and be on campus, but the style of residence for a graduate is very different than [for] an undergrad,” Barkwill said.

Graduate student Ala Amoachi agreed with the advertised benefits of building a community-centered residence hall.

“I’m among the younger graduate students, but in general we tend to be older and are handling a more demanding work load,” said Amoachi. “Campus housing creates unity, and that should be shared with people that are similarly situated.”