Wichita State pauses plans for innovation campus residence hall

The president of Wichita State University, worried about costs, is putting on hold plans to build a second residence hall on campus, officials say.

President John Bardo had hoped to start construction on a new 400- to 600-bed, $50-60 million hall in November and open it before the fall semester of 2017. Bardo has said a new residence hall is integral to building the new innovation campus at WSU.

The new innovation campus residence hall would have come on the heels of the new Shocker Hall, a 784-bed dormitory that was built in a little over a year at a cost of $60 million. Shocker Hall opened last August.

“Nothing has been decided except that we wanted to learn more, to make sure that if it was built, it would meet student needs,” said Lou Heldman, WSU’s vice president for strategic communications. “No decision has been made, other than we are not ready to move ahead yet.”

Bardo did not return calls for comment.

Ted Ayres, WSU vice president and general counsel, said Bardo told him Tuesday that the university is not moving ahead with any immediate plans to construct a new residence hall.

“He said we had decided not to do it, that the numbers were not there, and didn’t justify building the new residence hall,” Ayres said.

In a survey, students were asked if they would pay $750 to $900 a month per student – not including parking and meals – to live in the new hall. WSU surveyed all students under the age of 30 late last year. The Eagle acquired the survey through a Kansas Open Records Act request.

The survey, completed in December, drew negative comments from students. Some pointed out they could buy a house and pay less on a mortgage than what they would pay in rent at the proposed dorm.

About 32 percent of the students surveyed said they thought $750 a month was “somewhat reasonable” or “very reasonable.”

▪ “How rich do you think students are?” one student wrote in the survey. “Why would they pay that amount to live on an apartment when we can live 1 block from campus and pay one third of that?”

▪ “In the surrounding areas, housing is extremely cheap; my house I own is 1700 square feet with bills amounting to 900$ per month (utilities included),” another student wrote.

▪ “If four people are splitting the apartment rent at $750 dollars each then the apartment costs then the apartment is $3,000 a month,” another wrote. “Doesn’t that seem a bit excessive?”

In comparison, the proposed cost to live in the Shocker Hall at Wichita State this fall is an estimated $1,174 a month, including a 15-meals-a-week plan, according to information provided by WSU. The cost to live in the 1960s-built Fairmount Towers, also with a 15-meal plan, is an estimated $969 a month, according to the most recent information provided by the university.

Only 8 percent of WSU’s students live on campus.

Time line

The student survey results, which cited concerns over costs, spurred the university to do more research, Heldman said.

The survey results were available by December 2014, yet university officials still decided to request proposals in January. Then, several weeks ago, four development teams made presentations on their proposals to about 15 university officials from the administration, finance and residential life departments, Heldman said.

WSU wants to make sure not only that students can afford what is built, but also that they like what they get, Heldman said.

“They thought it was overpriced,” Heldman said of the student responders. “That survey was quite useful in that it told us what would not work; it didn’t necessarily tell us what would work.”

The university has described the proposed hall as “apartment living” for sophomores and graduate students. It would replace the old Fairmount Towers at 21st and Hillside. Shocker Hall is geared toward freshmen.

Despite the initial time line, Heldman said there is still a significant chance the second hall will be built and ready by 2017.

The university’s initial schedule for a fall 2017 opening called for the university to sign a contract with a developer in May and finalize the design of the hall this summer. That time line was included in a request for qualifications from interested developers.

“We’ll decide later whether to move ahead – or that it is not a good idea to move ahead,” Heldman said.

Joseph Shepard, WSU student body president, said slowing down on another residence hall was news to him.

He said the plans to build another residence hall so soon had some students asking, “Why are we building another dorm when we already have Shocker Hall?”

“I don’t know if there is necessarily a need,” he said.

The goal with a residence hall on the innovation campus would have been to promote more living on campus and get away from a “commuter-campus” mentality, he said.

This story was originally published June 16, 2015 at 8:03 PM with the headline "Wichita State pauses plans for innovation campus residence hall."