Future freshmen can look forward to another housing option on campus; a new residence hall.

NIU has partnered with an off-campus vendor that will design and build the new dormitory, leaving NIU to manage the property.

The university has entered into a ground lease agreement the with College Housing Foundation. Under a ground lease agreement, an outside developer builds and owns a building on land owned by another party – in this case, the university.

“We will manage this, and sometime in the longer term future it will revert back to university property,” said Mike Stang, executive director of Housing and Dining.

According to a press release issued June 23, the university will take full ownership of the building “after a period not to exceed 40 years.”

Brian Hemphill, Vice President for Student Affairs & Enrollment Management, worked throughout the spring to gather student opinions and ideas for the new residence hall.

“A great deal of planning has gone into the development of the plans for the new residence halls,” Hemphill said. “Last spring I convened students on three different occasions to solicit feedback and ideas related to new housing on campus. A variety of students were invited; residence hall leaders and the community advisers, Greek-affiliated students, off-campus students, Student Association leaders and a number of student employees, and their verbal and survey feedback was incorporated into the planning for this project.”

In an interview over the summer, Hemphill said that all cost associated with the project will be “self-supporting” and that “NIU will not put money on the table.” Instead, CHF will contract a private developer for construction and financing.

In addition to single bathrooms, it is hoped that the building will be able to house a “cyber-cafe” in a similar vein as a bookstore like Barnes and Noble or Borders, Hemphill said.

Though still in the design phase, construction is expected to begin this spring.

“I would say as soon as winter is over and the spring starts, we will be moving in,” Stang said.

A final location has not been determined, but Stang said the residence hall will most likely be where the University Family Apartments are located, just west of Annie Glidden Rd. and just north of Lincoln Drive North.

Hemphill hopes the new residence hall will persuade students to stay on-campus past their first year.

“Our students are due for a new, traditional-style residential facility,” he said. “I believe this complex will provide an attractive option for students to remain on campus for their second or third year, while offering new students an additional residential experience,”

Some students agree that the new dorms will be more appealing to students.

“I think students will be attracted by the new building,” said senior biology major Cole Lightfoot. “It will be more up-to-date and modern.”

The residence hall is expected to open in the fall of 2012. The Board of Trustees will vote for final approval for the project at today’s meeting.

Originally discussed at the April 29 BOT meeting, the residence hall as proposed would host single and double rooms with private bathrooms; the building would house up to 1,000 students. The board voted unanimously to enter into a ground lease agreement in a special meeting held June 23.

“It’s a creative plan that hopefully will not impact our financial sitatuation,” said Trustee Barbara Vella at the June 23 meeting. “We need this to be competive [with other universities] and because it’s good for our students.”

–Managing Editor Matt Liparota contributed to this article.