University Times

Pitt will pitch its plans for a new on-campus undergraduate dormitory Feb. 22 at the City Planning Commission’s bi-weekly public meeting.
Pending approvals by the commission and by Pitt’s Board of Trustees property and facilities committee, the University this spring will begin constructing a nine-story, 500-unit dormitory near the Petersen Events Center, according to Pitt spokesperson John Fedele.
The dorm is expected to be built in time for fall 2006 occupancy. The cost of the project, which is still in the design stage, has not been fully determined, Fedele said.
The trustees property and facilities committee is expected to approve the capital project at a public meeting Feb. 28, Pitt officials said. That committee is empowered to act for the full board on building projects totaling more than $1 million. Funding sources for the new dormitory also are expected to be announced at the Feb. 28 meeting.
The new housing unit is part of a larger effort, announced by Provost James Maher in December, to increase undergraduate enrollment at the Pittsburgh campus.

(See Jan. 20, 2005, University Times.)
Pitt wants to continue guaranteeing three years of on-campus housing for undergraduates who want it, Maher told the University Times in January.
Pitt currently has about 6,400 beds on the Pittsburgh campus, including those in Pennsylvania Hall, a similar dorm that was completed for occupancy last fall. That residence hall cost $22.1 million and houses 420 students.

—Peter Hart