With the demand for housing exceeding the regular capacity by at least 200 students, the University is working to accommodate all applicants by putting two students in each private room, using rooms that have not been remodeled and also looking into future plans of building new housing for at least 200 students.

According to Eugene Dial, vice president for student affairs, one of the biggest problems is the number of people who apply for housing late. About 200 housing applications are received between the last week in July and the second week in August.

“Regular capacity for housing on campus is 1,149. Right now we have 1,405 students living on campus,” Dial said.

It was the University’s understanding that the repairs and construction in Calecas Hall would be completed by the week before the start of the fall semester.

“When the repairs were not completed on time, we had to use rooms that were not finished and also open up Babington and Ellender Halls,” Dial said.

Members of Housing and Physical Plant Operations met Sept. 6 to discuss the repairs needed. By Oct. 1 the finalized plans will be ready to bid out to contractors. The remaining repairs and construction of Calecas will begin in December and will be finished by the fall of 2012.

Calecas will look like a new building when done, Dial said. “The roof is new, the windows are new, the walls will be redone and the built-in closets and desks will be replaced with more modern sets.”

The older buildings are being kept open for students who cannot afford the more expensive rooms in the newer buildings. “For those students who cannot afford the more expensive ones, we will try to provide the best place we can in the older buildings by remodeling them,” Dial said.

“One of the things we are going to have to do as an institution is figure out how we are going to accommodate students next year. We will not have enough room to house everyone that would like to live on campus. We may have to result in approaching local hotels and renting them out as facilities,” Dial said.

Between now and November, the University will determine what type of housing will benefit students the most. New housing options may include another set of dorms like Scholars and Zeringue Halls, another apartment building like La Maison du Bayou or even the possibility of Greek housing, Dial said.

The location of the new housing is another question, Dial said. “If we build in the green area near the new dorm, then we have to think about the added parking that would also be needed.

Another option is to move the softball field, we could build near that area and then convert the rest to parking,” Dial said.

The projected date for the new construction project has not yet been determined.