St. Mary’s to begin construction on $25 million residence hall

St. Mary’s University is embarking on a 14-year project to persuade more students to stay on campus, starting with a new $25 million suite-style residence hall.

The Marianist liberal arts institution plans to begin construction on phase one of the college’s new residential community, called The Village at St Mary’s, in early July. The multiphase project includes the demolition of seven residence halls, renovation of five and construction of up to four new dorms plus a community building.

“Some buildings reached or really should be reaching, the end of their intended life span,” said Tim Bessler, dean of students. “Going in and renovating them may not be the best way of meeting the changing demands of students.”

The university will be taking feedback throughout each phase of construction; the village could have as many as six facilities and is set to be fully complete by 2030.

ESG Architects and Big Red Dog Engineering are working on the first hall, which features suites to house 232 juniors and seniors. It’s scheduled for completion in August 2017.

Taylor Allen, assistant project manager for Big Red Dog, said that because the construction is happening on a vacant piece of land, it’s expected to be minimally disruptive for students this year. The design, he said, has the university’s “clear goal” in mind to attract students already on the campus.

During the 2015-16 school year, 57 percent of about 2,300 undergraduate students lived on campus at St. Mary’s. The college’s aim is to increase that to 75 percent by upping the capacity of on-student housing to more than 1,500.

The building project fits into President Thomas Mengler’s strategic plan to update the college’s facilities for what he said is an evolving student population, one in which students are looking for a living experience, rather than just a place to sleep.

“(The plan is) really to develop the campus as a place where our students from their freshman year through their senior year, in increasing numbers, choose to live,” Mengler said.

Over the course of the next 10 to 15 years, builders will be replacing older upperclassmen dorms on the campus’ southwestern quadrant, including Adele and Archbishop Flores halls, with new dorms.

The Village, which is going on plots of land St. Mary’s already owns, will also include a pool, grilling stations and eventually a new dining facility.

Current undergraduate enrollment at St. Mary’s, billed as the oldest Catholic university in Texas, is about 2,300. Mengler said he’s not looking to increase that number by very much, crediting some of the college’s academic success to its small size.

Residency in the new dorms will cost more, but Mengler said the cost will make St. Mary’s prices about equal with those of universities nearby. Because almost half of students at St. Mary’s live off campus, and many of them near the South Texas Medical Center, the new dorm could save money on transportation and food costs.

“Housing will be a little more expensive, but it should not place in any way a burden on our juniors and seniors,” Mengler said. “Our expectation is that this will be not only affordable, it will be a deal.”