Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

New Res. Life report will allow UA to look at housing options

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat "I cannot speak for the rest of the group, but my belief is that we'll be interested in securing additional housing on a leasing basis." James Van Arsdel UA director of Residence Life

Lack of sufficient housing for students hoping to live on campus is a familiar problem for UA Director of Residence Life James Van Arsdel.

But he's hoping a new strategy toward planning and informing students will prevent further mishaps.

"The concerns are that we don't have enough housing," Van Arsdel said.

However, he said he is now better equipped to tackle this dilemma thanks to a new draft summary report designed to address housing concerns.

Van Arsdel and a committee of students, faculty and administrators are working on a draft summary report which outlines how to secure adequate housing for future student needs.

If these guidelines are not successful - an "unlikely event" according to Van Arsdel - the report also has alternatives for officials to consider.

"We're trying to get ahead of things for next year, even now," Van Arsdel said.

Following the recent trend, the demand for on-campus housing is projected to increase for next fall.

"We have been asked to house, at a bare minimum, 4,100 (freshman) next year," said Van Arsdel.

The UA currently houses 3,876 first-year students.

Informing the dorm-dwelling community on housing issues was a priority for Van Arsdel.

"We want an open discussion," Van Arsdel said. "We think that we have identified a strategy for what we need to tell students the full picture."

Part of the solution to alleviate the housing crunch is the construction of three new residence halls, Van Arsdel said.

A 300-400 bed apartment complex north of Coronado Residence Hall is tentatively scheduled to be completed by fall 2001. The complex will house undergraduates during its first year and eventually be designated for graduate housing, Van Arsdel said.

Also slated are two traditional residence halls, which should add about 700 beds. The two halls, which will be located near Arizona Stadium, are expected to be operational by fall 2002.

Though the new dorms will provide additional housing within the next five years, immediate solutions are still needed.

"I cannot speak for the rest of the group, but my belief is that we'll be interested in securing additional housing on a leasing basis," Van Arsdel said.

Greek houses occasionally open up for Residence Life use, such as Parker and Pima houses, formerly home to the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, respectively.

But Van Arsdel said these opportunities crop up only occasionally and do not provide many extra rooms.

The acquisition of nearby apartment complexes offers a greater capacity in a more workable time frame, said Van Arsdel.

The UA was considering purchasing Casa Feliz Apartments, 1201 E. Drachman St., but UA President Peter Likins killed the plan in response to neighborhood concerns and limited time. The complex is located outside of UA's development boundaries.

He stressed that there is no definite word that the UA will consider contacting neighboring apartment complexes with the intent of leasing or purchasing them.

"We want to be sure we know what we're doing before heading in that direction," he said.

As a temporary solution to the overcrowding in dorms, Residence Life officials are looking to create 80 additional beds for the all-women Pima House.

Van Arsdel said he anticipates the additional space will be available by the 2000-2001 school year. Preliminary approval for the expansion could come at today's Arizona Board of Regents meeting in Tempe.

Van Arsdel said he expects the designs for the proposal to be completed by mid-October, which would allow for construction to occur during the spring and summer months. This would keep Pima on schedule to be fully renovated by next fall.

"We are going ahead on that as fast as humanly possible," Van Arsdel said.

Helena Contrisciani, a communications sophomore, said the convenience of dorm life is why she chose to live in Yavapai Hall.

"Being centrally located is part of the reason I live in a dorm," she said.

Contrisciani, who remembered the uproar caused by last spring's failed proposition that would have assigned students rooms on a lottery system, is still worried that there will not be enough space for returning students.

"I'm concerned I'm not going to have a place to live next year," she said. "All of us who've lived here and built a community are getting shoved out."

Accounting and finance junior Michael Cali, a resident of Yuma Hall, was less preoccupied by potential overcrowding.

"I'm not concerned now," he said. "(But) I understand the limited space."