University issues RFQ for new campus dormitory

Plans are in the works for the construction of a new dormitory on the Texas State University campus.

The Texas State University System issued a Request for Qualification in May for a developer for a dormitory to house freshmen. According to the RFQ, the university has 23 on-campus dormitories with a capacity of 6,646. With a few exceptions, all first-year students are required to live on campus, and between 94 and 96 percent of incoming freshmen reside in on-campus housing, the document states. For at least eight of the past 10 years, demand for on-campus housing has exceeded capacity. Moreover, the university has set a goal to provide on-campus housing for transfer students and sophomores who want to live on campus. In order to accommodate onethird of the sophomore class, the RFQ states, another 1,597 beds would be needed.

“To accommodate the rising number of freshmen and continuing student housing needs, the University will need approximately 700 additional beds to serve incoming freshmen for the Fall 2021 semester,” the document states. “To achieve its on-campus housing goals, the University is seeking a qualified development team to develop a minimum of 2,100 dormitory-style beds over the course of three phases, with the first 700 beds coming online by Fall of 2021.”

The RFQ states that firms notified of qualification will be allowed to respond to a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the project. Finalists will be notified July 8, and the notification of award will be given the week of Aug. 5.

The construction deadline in the RFQ states that Phase 1 will be substantially completed by July 15, 2021.

The new student housing development is in line with the university’s 2017-2027 Master Plan, which states that the university intends to increase the total housing bed count by up to 700 beds to accommodate first-time, full-time freshmen and 33 percent of returning sophomores.

Texas State spokesman Jayme Blaschke said there are three on-campus locations proposed for conceptual planning purposes for new on-campus housing.

“The first priority is across the street from the president’s residence. The second priority is where Sterry Hall is located,” he said. “The third is the Glade area, up by Harris Dining Hall. Drainage will need to be properly addressed at all three locations before any work progresses, but it is still early in the process.”

Blaschke said the university is considering phasing in housing to get 2,000 to 3,000 new beds.