The context
Texas State University welcomed 7,892 first-year students this semester, a 3.3% increase compared to the fall 2022 semester, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
This semester's group of first-year students was also a 2.6% increase compared to first-year students from the fall 2021 class.
The specifics
The project will be a 223,574-square-foot, seven-story residence hall with 942 beds, said Gordon Bohmfalk, Texas State University’s architect and director of facilities, planning, design and construction. Bohmfalk and his team are in charge of working with outside consultants and builders to construct projects on the campus.
The James Street Housing Complex will be equipped with a main lobby, a kitchen, seminar and gaming rooms, and a laundry room.
William Mattera, executive director of housing and residential life, said the complex is part of a “collaborative growth strategy,” focused on housing first-year students who meet the following criteria:
- Graduated high school within the last 12 months
- Are under age 20
- Live within 66 miles or less from campus
One more thing
Mattera said there will be no additional garages or parking lots next to the residence hall.
“We’re not adding any parking adjacent to the hall but between the Mill Street Lot and other spaces that exist on campus, parking already exists in the inventory for those,” he said.
Mattera also emphasized that the James Street Housing Complex represents preparation for growth in the first-year class and to offer more upper-division housing.
“This year’s the first year we’ve ever not offered returning students the chance to live on campus, and our hope is that with James Street we’ll have the ability to be able to reoffer that again,” he said.
Texas State University officials plan to break ground on the project in December.
