Construction under way on new pod-style dorm

by Laura Casamento news editor

Construction is currently under way next to Woodcrest Hall on a new three-story dormitory building that will be available for student living by the Fall 2000 semester.

According to Paul Weaver, acting dean of students, the new residence hall will feature "podstyle" living, which he describes as "an upscale Xavier [Hall] kind of arrangement.''

Each pod will consist of one triple room, five double rooms, and three single rooms. Between 17 and 18 students will live in each pod, which will contain four showers, a central washroom, and a common lounge with tables, chairs and sofas.

The building will also feature a large, laundromat-style laundry room with larger clothes washers and dryers to accommodate students who wait until the last D1ivuteto _washtheir clothes and a trash chute to eliminate hallway receptacles and clutter.

Unlike the Cabrini Apartment Complex, however, the pods will not have kitchens or living rooms. Instead, the rooms will be typical dorm rooms, featuring beds, desks, bureaus and closets.

"Basically, the pods are like two Xavier quads put together," Weaver said.

The new dormitory, like Xavier, will be air conditioned and will feature standard dorm furniture.

"The students liked the furniture in the other dorms, it's durable and it's of good value," Weaver said.

The dormitory will house between 160 and 176 students on its three levels.

"Three stories is the maximum height in [Radnor] Township," Weaver said. "We also did not want the building to take over the campus. The architects and planners went to great lengths to incorporate it into our building styles so it will fit in."

Weaver said that therewere-several reasons for the decision to make the dorm in pod-style fashion.

''This dorm will be the largest residence on campus," he said. "Each pod will have its own access door, as well as dormitory room doors. This will make it like miniature dorms within a larger building. The pods won't be much smaller than your typical house."

Weaver said that the campus wanted to retain its small-school atmosphere and the new dormitory would give students a chance to continue to live in close-knit groups.

The pod layout also gives the Office of Residence Life the option of creating special interest housing, such as substance-free, international or honors pods.

As with all new residence halls, Weaver expects the demand to live there to be high in the first few years.

"Chances are, this will not be an exclusively first-year residence," he said.

Instead, Xavier and Woodcrest Halls may become exclusive first- year residence halls, eliminating the need for sophomores and juniors to live in the two older dorms. The new rooms will be available for current students to choose at the housing lottery in the spring.

Even with the increase in beds for the coming year, the college is not planning to aggressively build enrollment.

Instead, lounges and tripled-up double rooms will be returned to their original states to ease congestion in the houses and dorms.