Construction of a new dorm is changing the skyline of the Gorham campus. A large building emerges in Gorham where fields once were. The dorm, located near Bailey Hall, is designed for 296 upper-level and graduate-level students. The new building is scheduled to be finished for the fall of 2007. The rooms will be apartment and suite-style, and most will hold four students.
The projected costs for construction of the building are $21.5 million. However, the dorm is meant to be self-sufficient. “The room fees have to be enough to make the payments for the new residence halls,” said Bob Caswell, executive director of public affairs. “We essentially take out a loan, and the payment of these loans comes from room fees that are generated by the new residence hall.”
The building is also designed to be environmentally-friendly. “We go for what is known as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification on all our new buildings,” said Caswell. “What this means is that they are designed to be highly energy efficient, and we use local and recycled materials whenever possible.” The Abromson Center in Portland, for example, collects rain water from the top of the building and uses it to flush toilets.
Increased demand from students for on-campus housing sparked the decision for the new dorm. “(We have had) 300 students, over the last several years, in forced triples,” said Caswell. “Plus, we turn away 100 or so students who ask for on-campus housing.”
The university began construction of the building in the spring of 2006. “I was at the ground breaking ceremony this past April,” said Caswell, “and there were a number of students there who were pleased.”
Student reactions to the new dorm being built on the Gorham campus have been mixed. “I think it will make it easier for people whose majors are offered on the Gorham campus. It will offer more flexibility to their living situation,” said Liz Hart, a junior and an English major.
“I think overall it will have a positive affect,” said Nate Brown, a senior who currently lives off-campus. “It will create more opportunity for students to live on campus and create more community. However, I think it will be bad in terms of parking, which is already a problem.”
Student parking was cut by 153 spaces when construction started in the Bailey Hall lot. This summer, 175 new spaces were built next to Dickey-Wood Hall. That is a net gain of 22 spaces for an additional 296 students on campus.
“Our studies have shown there shouldn’t be a significant increase in parking demand with the new hall,” said Caswell. “An independent parking consultant looked at parking demand on the Gorham campus. The market for the new residence hall is mostly current students living off-campus and commuting to classes.” The fact that these students will now become residents will decrease parking demand on campus, he said.
Music majors are also wondering why the university is building a new dorm when they believe that Corthell Hall, which houses the music school, could use renovations itself. Amy Nolan, a senior music education major said, “I know it’s a conflict of interest, building a new dorm to get more students. But music students only have 18 practice rooms.” Students are often kicked out of these rooms in favor of professors who need them for lessons, leaving the students with nowhere to finish practicing.
Students have also expressed concern about the dearth of housing in Portland. Director of Residential Life Denise Nelson said, “It is part of a long-term plan that does involve housing in Portland eventually.” However, there is currently a private developer with plans to build housing on Marginal Way geared toward students, which may take away from the university’s niche market. “[The private developer] caught a head start on us, so we want to be careful not to build something we can’t fill,” said Nelson.
Caswell said the University is aware of a possible demand for on-campus housing in Portland, and is waiting to see how the new development on Marginal Way will affect that. u