Due to the shortage of residence hall space, IU will convert Goodbody Hall and Morrison Hall into residence halls in an initiative called the Wells Quad project.
Construction, which was announced in the 2014 school year, is set to begin summer 2016.
The location of these two buildings does not receive as much traffic compared to other parts of campus, said Courtney Payne, associate architect and team leader of the project.
Numerous IU employees, including engineers, landscape architects and interior designers, will be working to make the buildings and that area of campus a sufficient space to live.
The buildings served as student housing halls in the 1920s and 1930s and will be updated to meet IU building standards while keeping the historical architecture in place, Payne said.
“We are keeping the original building materials whenever possible and replacing them where they have reached the end of their lifespan,” Payne said. “I think this type of housing doesn’t currently exist in quite the same way anywhere on campus, so I’m excited to be able to facilitate its offering in the near future. As an architect for Indiana University, this type of project doesn’t come along very often, and being a part of it has been and will continue to be a very rewarding experience.”
Vice President for Capital Planning and Facilities Thomas Morrison said the recommendation to convert Goodbody and Memorial into residence halls was made in 2009 from the Board of Aeons after the master plan was completed.
“We’ve been working with architects since that time to develop plans,” Morrison said. “There were a number of moves that had to happen prior to this because obviously there are people in those buildings now, so we had to complete the international studies building.”
Morrison said offices and classrooms stationed in Goodbody and Memorial at this time will be moved to different buildings, including Kirkwood Hall, the Global and International Studies Building and Ballantine Hall.
The residence halls will be renovated to include a number of facilities including a dining hall, HVAC system and communal bathrooms.
“We’re not going back to the 1930s,” Morrison said. “Students love the notion of older buildings, classic architecture and living in the middle of campus, but they’re pretty clear that they don’t want to live like the students of 1930 did, so the rooms will be all new and up-to-code.”
Morrison said the renovation of these buildings will not affect student tuition and housing rates any more than average inflation.
All of the Residential Programs and Services funds are built in to a long-term capital financial plan, which is part of the rate students pay at the beginning of the semester, Morrison said.
Only students who live in the residence halls will be affected by inflation, as off-campus residents are not responsible for on-campus housing fees.
The buildings are tentatively scheduled to be available for student housing beginning fall 2018.
