Colleges in Philadelphia area expanding residence capacity to meet changing student needs

In the spring, St. Joseph's University began building a residence hall for freshmen; when it opens next fall, there will be more spots in existing dorms for upperclassmen who want to live closer to campus.

On the Main Line, Villanova University and Haverford College also are working on dorm projects to accommodate ever-changing student needs.

It's not just a local phenomenon. Loren Rullman of the Society for College and University Planning said similar projects were under way around the country.

"The style of living for students has changed considerably," Rullman said. "There's technology and gadgets [that] students bring to college now that past infrastructure can't support.

"This generation of students is different," added Rullman, who has seen campus life change at the University of Michigan, where he is associate vice president for student affairs. "The expectations of parents and students are higher today. Safety is important to parents, and the 'millennials' are more social and group-oriented."

St. Joseph's aims to meet the needs of its student body with the 413-bed Villiger Hall, which it is building at Cardinal and City Avenues. And like St. Joseph's, Villanova University is working to meet the housing needs of its upperclassmen.

Even though enrollment at Villanova remains steady, Robert Morro, vice president of facilities, cited the declining number of commuter students and rising interest in on-campus life as reasons for a new residence hall.

"In the '70s, a quarter of students wanted to live on campus," Morro said. "Now it's three-quarters of students wanting to live in dorms."

Students are also outgrowing Villanova's older residence halls, Morro said.

"Modern students are more creatures of comfort," he said, adding that they expect larger closets and the ability to control the temperature in their rooms.

Though the first of three phases of Villanova's $22.5 million Transforming the Campus Landscape project includes residence-hall renovations and improvements, no beds will be added until a plan to build a residence hall along Lancaster Avenue progresses over the next few years.

The university recently hired architecture firms Voith & Mactavish and Robert A.M. Stern to collaborate on the planning, but the university hasn't presented plans yet.

The proposed residence hall's 800 to 1,200 beds will reduce the number of upperclassmen who have to move off campus. Like Villanova, Haverford College doesn't want to increase the size of its current student body, but over the years, living rooms in dormitories became dorm rooms to accommodate growth.

The two construction sites of three new residence halls are at the heart of the 216-acre campus, where students want to live, Haverford spokesman Chris Mills said. Haverford has received $17.5 million in alumni gifts so far toward the project's $24 million cost.