By fall 2014, a few hundred students will move into one of the most enchanted areas of campus. The LSU System Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan to build a new residence hall near the Enchanted Forest at its December meeting.
Catherine David, Residential Life communications coordinator, said in an e-mail the hall will add 330 beds to the University’s housing inventory and will be built in part of the Hart parking lot and surrounding area.
The building will replace parking spaces near Kirby Smith Hall. Spaces lost because of construction will be replaced across Aster Street in the lot north of the Edward Gay apartments, David said.
She said no trees will be cut down during potential construction.
ResLife plans to open the building to all students, David said.
The project’s estimated cost is $22 million, which will be funded by the sale of revenue bonds, she said.
But not all students think it’s money well spent.
“Maybe they could use the money to renovate the buildings they already have,” said Lauren Sicard, prenursing sophomore.
Sicard said she doesn’t think there’s a shortage of beds on campus, and the University may have more important issues to address.
Samantha Prudhomme, early childhood education sophomore, disagrees.
Prudhomme said she thinks the University should increase the amount of on-campus living space to give all students a chance to live where they want.
“Even if they wind up with excess, it’s important that everyone has a chance to live on campus,” she said.
She said she lived in Herget Hall last year and thinks freshmen should live on campus for at least a year to get the “full college experience.”
Though the hypothetical building would increase the number of beds on campus by 330, David said the University doesn’t currently plan to require incoming freshmen to live on campus.
“This construction is to build the inventory to the point to have housing for students that want to live on campus and will allow the closure of Kirby Smith,” she said.
 
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Contact Rachel Warren at [email protected]