The first new dormitory in more than 30 years is set to open this fall at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa, and officials expect the additional 810 beds will allow the university to perform much-needed repairs to existing dorms and possibly even eliminate long waiting lists for housing.

The university has begun assigning spaces to upperclassmen at the new $71 million Frear Hall, which is to be finished by July 14.

As the doors to Frear Hall open at the beginning of the fall semester, doors to two existing dormitory towers — Hale Aloha Ilima and Hale Aloha Lokelani — are expected to close for one year for major repairs and refurbishment.

"Those towers are in desperate need of refurbishment. What Frear Hall is going to allow us to do over the next several years is improve the conditions of our existing halls," said Alan Yang, associate vice chancellor for students at UH-Manoa.

The closure of the two freshman dormitory towers next semester will mean 500 beds will be eliminated from UH-Manoa's inventory of 3,000. But with the addition of Frear Hall's 800 spaces, the university will have a net gain of 300 beds this fall, Yang said.

That could significantly decrease the university's long waiting lists for housing, Yang said.

"We're certainly going to be able to accommodate everyone who has applied by the priority deadline, which was Feb. 1," he said. "We are still working through applications as we speak."

In contrast, toward the beginning of last school year, the university reported a waiting list of fewer than 400 students. That was significantly fewer than the 1,400 students who were turned away from campus housing three years earlier.

University officials were unable to provide an estimate of the number of applications received so far.

'DESTINATION OF CHOICE'

With the addition of Frear Hall and with more than $40 million in repairs and maintenance planned for existing dormitories over the next few years, Manoa officials are saying this marks a new era for student housing at the university's flagship campus.

"We're obviously doing this for recruitment and retention (of students) to make this campus a destination of choice. We can't do that with rundown facilities," said Kathy Cutshaw, vice chancellor of administration at UH-Manoa.

The 12-story Frear Hall building will stand in sharp contrast to the rest of the UH-Manoa residence halls, which are all at least 30 years old.

ENERGY EFFICIENT

The new Frear Hall replaces the old dorm, which was built in 1952 and has not housed students since 1997. It was initially closed after severe plumbing and electrical problems developed.

The new building was designed to be energy efficient, using open air and energy-efficient lighting and appliances, said Salis Collier, senior project manager. The building includes two student lounges, with pool tables, televisions and arcade games. A separate facility on the premises will provide secure bicycle, moped and surfboard storage.

Students will have dorm-room options, including single-dwelling units, two-bedroom or four-bedroom units.

Individual bedrooms also include their own air conditioning, Collier said. But he added that the university will have the capability of monitoring and possibly charging for excess energy use.

MAINTENANCE ISSUES

For years, students have criticized the condition of the UH-Manoa dorms. UH officials say the lack of campus housing and the poor condition of existing dorms have reduced the housing application pool.

Rachelle Copeland, a 23-year-old literature student at Manoa, said many students don't even bother applying for campus housing because of the reputation of the facilities.

"Shabby rooms," said Copeland, describing her experience living in Hale Aloha Mokihana during her freshman year at UH-Manoa. "They are just poorly maintained and it's never appeared to be a priority to the university."

She said Frear Hall will probably attract more students to campus housing, but "they'll only be interested in the new dorms."

She also commended the university's plan to begin renovations of the freshman Hale Aloha towers, which were built in the 1970s.

REPAIR BACKLOG

A UH systemwide estimate put the repair and maintenance backlog for all 10 campuses at $351.5 million. UH-Manoa officials estimate that the total repair and maintenance backlog for their campus is about $225 million.

The university will receive $157.9 million next fiscal year for repair and maintenance and new construction, which is less than half of what UH administrators had requested this past legislative session. However, the amount is more than Gov. Linda Lingle had proposed in her budget.

A state audit of UH-Manoa dorm facilities released last year found that campus housing was in a general state of disrepair. At the time, state auditor Marion Higa recommended the university scrap or scale down its Frear Hall project, saying the campus should be focused on maintaining its existing facilities rather than expanding capacity.

But UH officials say that the addition of Frear Hall will actually allow them to repair and maintain existing facilities in a more efficient way.

"The problems in some of our older dorms are larger than we can fix in a summer, when the students aren't here. We actually have to take buildings offline," Cutshaw said.

MORE WORK IN STORE

After plumbing and electrical upgrades this year to the Hale Aloha Ilima and Lokelani towers, the university is expected to close down the two remaining Hale Aloha freshman towers for similar upgrades. The university also is expected to redo the roof, flooring and painting of each of those halls.

Francis Choe, a sophomore at UH-Manoa and a member of the Associated Students of UH, said students are excited by the addition of the new dormitory building.

"I think students are looking forward to the improved quality of life," Choe said.

Choe also pointed out that even with Frear Hall, there are still few campus housing options relative to the some 20,000 students at UH-Manoa.

"The housing formula is still in effect," Choe said.

Generally, students are accepted into dorms based on geographic priority, with top priority going to first-time freshmen from the Mainland or Neighbor Islands or students who live in rural areas of O'ahu.

Students can expect to pay $5,186 to $8,717 per year for the new dorm space, according to the UH-Manoa Housing Office. The rates for existing dorm spaces range from $3,497 to $6,111 a year.