The Department of Residence has begun to feel the constraints of serving an increasing amount of students in the past three years.

One way to respond is to build a new dorm that is expected to hold more than 700 more students.

The estimated budget for the project is $40 million. Before any ground can break, the building budget must first receive approval from the Board of Regents at the Dec. 3 meeting.

“It’s about the experience. And for us a new building

 the way students want it is something that naturally attracts them,” said Brittney Rutherford, marketing coordinator for the department of residence. “So marketing-wise, there is not a lot to do because our students like our product and will be able to fill the building.”

The need for a new dorm comes from the growing amount of students on the ISU campus. The Department of Residence has worked hard to provide beds for the growing population.

“The one area that I feel very good about is that we tried to respond in many ways. If we’re going make a long-term investment and borrow money, let’s make sure this serves students for the next twenty years,” said Peter Englin, Department of Residence director.

As the number of students has grown, the need for on-campus housing has grown as well.

Englin said the demand for on-campus housing has grown 55 percent since 2008, while enrollment has only grown 39 percent.

“We see this because students vote with their feet and they are telling us they are getting better grades, borrowing less money and having programs and services that support their personal and academic success… Combine all of this together and they’re saying ‘We’d rather live with you,’” Englin said.

The new dorm will go in the area adjacent to Buchanan Hall. The Department of Residence is hoping to have the dorm set back on the lot to allow for green space in front of the building for students to enjoy.

“We talked about trying to maintain kind of a large open courtyard feel because there are now 1,100 students that will be in that community. We like the idea of having it set back,” Englin said.

After discussing issues with students, the department decided on a traditional residence hall with double spaced hallways.

One reason students may be compelled to choose the new dorm over other off-campus options is the sense of community that can be found in the ISU residence halls.

“The focus is on replicating the house experience. We do not do suites because we don’t get to know our neighbors as well as we do in the rest of the facility,” Englin said.

The department hopes to break ground on the project next May and have the dorm ready for students by December 2016.

While the goal for the building is to be opened by Fall of 2016, allowing that extra semester will allow the builders the time needed to provide the extra amount of beds that the department desires.

“You can look at the building in the community. You can total it all up and we haven’t added 7,000 beds to Ames. So there was capacity within the community that needed to be filled,” Englin said.