By Kyle Peveto, Page Editor

Plans for building a new residence hall will be halted for at least another year while the university assesses the need for extra space.

The potential new hall would be built across Campus Court from Edwards and Mabee halls, where student parking lots sit.

“We are still interested in building a new residence hall,” said Jack Rich, executive vice president of the university. “It’s a possibility in the next two to three years,”

Instead of a building for one group, such as freshman men, the hall would be a series of “pods” that could change in designation from year to year, depending on housing needs.

Sporadic overcrowding in recent years years has spurred interest in the unfixed, or pod, system of residence hall.

Initial plans show a series of four pods that would hold 30-35 students on three floors and would have a common area in the middle of each pod for those students.

Though the plans call for four pods, a fifth could be built across from Zona Luce, where another parking lot is located. Each pod could house a separate group of students to ease overflow concerns.

“It’s very difficult when you have fixed buildings to get the right mixture of males and females or freshmen and sophomores,” Rich said.

These plans have been discussed for the past several years and will be put off until next year’s enrollment is surveyed, he said.

If the university decides to build the hall next fall, construction would start as soon as possible to have it ready for the next school year.

The university has worked out zoning regulations and location with the city and could begin building immediately.

Last year, when plans for the hall were introduced, officials said pods could be built as needed, but the construction will cost less if the pods are built at once, Rich said.