New dorm proposed for University of Iowa

University of Iowa officials hope to build a new residence hall on the west side of campus, at an estimated cost of $20 million to $32 million.

The new dorm would house 250 to 400 students, and is needed to deal with growing undergraduate enrollment, officials said.

UI officials will seek state Board of Regents approval next week to proceed with planning on the new dorm project, and on a separate renovation project at the Iowa Memorial Union. The regents meet June 9 in Vinton; the meeting information was released today.

Officials have not settled on a specific location for the new dorm, but the favored area is near Hillcrest Residence Hall. A map shows three site areas under consideration on the west side of campus, near the residence hall district. This new dorm will be the first phase of a two-phased plan to increase campus dorm capacity by 800 beds, officials said.

The Iowa Memorial Union remodel and enhancement project will be on portions of the upper floors of the IMU, in conjunction with flood recovery on the lower level of that building. The remodel and enhancement will cost about $25 million.