Art, music and business students may one day find themselves with another living option when Gilbert Hall is opened once again as a residence hall.

However, students should not expect to see Gilbert Hall in livable condition for quite some time, as the renovation plan is still in its preliminary planning stages. The inclusion of Gilbert Hall in Vice President of Student Affairs Brian Hemphill’s ten year renovation plan was announced in a speech to the Student Affairs staff on August 31.

Hemphill said Gilbert Hall is “not livable at this point” and will need to be remodeled before it can reestablish its status as a residence hall.

Some planning has gone into the cost as well. According to the Board of Trustees’ Finance, Facilities and Operations Committee, the total estimated cost to renovate Gilbert Hall in 2008 is nearly $18,500.

Although the preliminary renovation plan is not yet complete, Gilbert Hall in its current condition still proves itself desirable based on location. The proximity to the Music Building, Barsema Hall and Jack Arends Hall, also known as the Visual Arts Building, makes Gilbert Hall popular with business, music and art students.

“Students that have smaller instruments have to cart them back and forth if they want to practice,” said Samantha Staller, a sophomore saxophone and vocal education major. She said she doesn’t like walking to the Music Building to practice at 11 p.m. and that if students lived closer it would be a lot more convenient.

Senior photography major Michelle Balogh said she would have liked to have lived in Gilbert Hall if it had been available as a residence hall during her time on campus.

“You have to bring so many big portfolios and large sheets of newsprint,” she said. “Books are heavy, but [art] supplies can get heavier and they’re more obtuse.”

Newell D. Gilbert Residence Hall was built in 1952 as the first on-campus men’s dormitory. The building housed over 300 men when it first opened, underwent a remodeling in 1967 and finally closed as a residence hall in 1995. Closed to residencies, the hall served as temporary office space while Altgeld Hall underwent renovation between 1999 and 2004.

Currently, a few offices can still be found in the basement of Gilbert Hall, but most of the rooms have been emptied now that they have moved into Altgeld Hall.

Carlene Eck is a Campus Reporter for the Northern Star.