Long-range construction plans for KU Student Housing

Published--June 2016
Updated--August 2016

The University of Kansas plans to build two new Student Housing facilities during the next two years to address the need for on-campus housing, including a 545-bed residence hall with adjoining dining center and a 708-bed apartment complex.

Also included in the plans is the restoration of Corbin Residence Hall, which stands on the ridge on which KU was founded, and the continued renovations to the eight older scholarship halls and Jayhawker Towers.

Both the apartment complex and the new residence hall are part of a wider central campus development project. That $350 million development involves new science facilities, an area-specific power plant, significant additional parking, and space for future academic development. http://dcm.ku.edu/campus-master-plan

Here are the details for the upcoming Student Housing projects:

• Corbin Hall will be closed in May after the 2017 semester ends. It will remain closed for the 2017-18 school year and will undergo an estimated $13.5 million restoration. Corbin reopens August 2018. This project will include the entryway, all student rooms, restrooms, and other public spaces, but it is anticipated that interior walls remain in place. Mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems not already upgraded will be updated.
  
  Corbin Hall was constructed in two phases, with the original building completed in 1923 and a north addition completed in 1951. It has 149 rooms, including a mix of single, double, and triple rooms, and houses only women.

• Near 19^th Street and Naismith, just west of the current Oliver Hall, KU is constructing a brand-new 545-bed residence hall with adjoining 22,000 square foot dining center. Both will open in the fall of 2017. The complex is expected to cost about $51 million and will contain a variety of room and occupancy designs based on updated market research and consultant reports.

• A new 708-bed apartment complex near 19^th Street and Ousdahl Drive, will open in the fall semester of 2018. The complex is expected to cost about $67 million and will contain 2- and 4-bedroom apartments with private bedrooms and private bathrooms.

• Scholarship hall renovations have taken place each summer since 2014. Completed halls include Stephenson, Pearson, Sellards, Douthart, Miller and Watkins. Grace Pearson will be remodeled in the summer of 2017, and Battenfeld in summer 2018. Renovations include replacement of heating and cooling systems, plumbing and electrical, bathroom remodeling, lighting upgrades and fire panel replacements.

Upcoming renovations are planned for Jayhawker Towers B and C, and for Oliver Residence Hall. No timeline has been announced. Jayhawker Towers were first occupied in the late 1960s then acquired by the University in 1981. Renovation of the remaining Towers will follow the same general program used in the Tower A (in 2009) and D (in 2010) project. Those projects included mechanical system and security upgrades plus improvements in student apartments.

These construction projects continue a series of renovations and new buildings in KU Student Housing:

• The new Oswald and Self Residence Halls, plus Daisy Hill Commons, opened in August 2015. The two halls hold 350 students each. The Commons contains study space (group and individual), academic service center with classrooms, meeting rooms, and space for academic advising partners.
• Gertrude Sellards Pearson (GSP) was renovated and reopened in August 2012.
• Jayhawker Towers A & D: renovated and reopened in August 2009 and 2010
• Hashinger Hall: renovated and reopened in August 2006
• Ellsworth Hall: renovated and reopened in August 2004
• Lewis Hall: renovated and reopened in August 1999
• Templin Hall: renovated and reopened in August 1997