SALEM — Salem State College hopes to build a 400-student residence hall by the beginning of the 2010 school year and is considering a location on Central Campus.
College President Patricia Meservey made the announcement at a routine meeting of the South Salem Neighborhood Association at the Enterprise Center last night.
Meservey said Central Campus was the site recommended by the Massachusetts State College Building Authority, which reviewed possible locations at all the college's campuses. While the college is seriously considering Central Campus as the future home of the new dorm, Meservey stressed it hasn't made a final decision yet.
"We need to process that (location), and look at how that works for us," Meservey said.
Under the Central Campus plan, the new dorm would likely be constructed next to the 450-student dorm that opened in 2004, Meservey said. It's still unclear how much the project would cost.
The proposed residence hall is part of a grander plan to house half of its 5,500 undergraduates on campus in the next 10 years. Currently, between 1,400 and 1,500 students live on campus, and the college hopes to nearly double that figure over the next decade.
For students, expanding on-campus housing options would help students become more involved with college activities and show them how to be involved in the neighborhood, Meservey said.
"It gives them a richer experience," she said.
Whichever location the college chooses, it hopes to break ground on the project within the next 15 to 18 months. Ideally, it would allow 400 additional undergraduates to live on campus by the fall of 2010.
The college hopes to charge ahead and identify a location soon in order to secure funding.
"We have to move forward deliberately," Meservey said. "We have a few months to work this through."
But she also pledged to work with south Salem neighbors. The proposal was announced late in the meeting last night and was met by no immediate criticism by the roughly two-dozen neighbors in attendance.
"We wanted to talk with this group first," Meservey said.
She hopes to meet with the neighborhood group again soon.
"We want to make sure ... you are fully informed about what we're doing," Meservey told the neighbors.
Little by little, the college is trying to shake its reputation as a commuter school. Salem State opened a 450-student dorm in 2004 with more than 70 suites, a workout area, wireless Internet, air-conditioning and panoramic views of the Forest River.
It marked the first residence hall to be built at the college since 1990.
Staff writer Chris Cassidy can be reached at 978-338-2526 or by e-mail at ccassidy@salemnews.com.
