To accommodate student requests and suggestions, University Hall will be reserved strictly for students who meet age and upperclassmen criteria starting this fall.

Juniors, seniors, graduate students or any student 21-years-old or older will be eligible to contract for a room in the residence hall, said Crystal Bouhl, assistant director of marketing for University Housing. Residents will receive a single room at a double room rate as well as an optional Grinell, Lentz and Trueblood meal plan, she said.

Bouhl said the decision to create an upperclassmen residence hall came from junior and senior requests for single rooms, optional dining plans and privacy requests. For the past few years, two Neely Hall floors have been offered exclusively to upperclassmen, she said.

“University Hall was a natural fit due to its size, as well as the location, which is separate from our other halls,” Bouhl said.

This semester, a Brush Towers or University Hall double room costs $5,074 per year, and a single room costs $8,022, according to the University Housing website. A west campus double or triple room costs $5,368 per year, and a single room costs $8,486.

University Housing administration believes graduate students will find the housing option interesting since Southern Hills, the 60-year-old apartment complex, will be unavailable next year. Lisa Marks, associate director of University Housing, said in an October Daily Egyptian article maintenance costs have become too expensive to continue Southern Hills operations.

Jeremy Strabala, a two-year resident assistant senior from Streator studying architectural studies, said University Hall dining will close after the spring semester. Despite this, Strabala said University Hall’s conversion is a good idea.

“I know several upperclassmen who have complained about having to share a dorm with freshmen who aren’t mature or committed to school, so giving upperclassmen their own space is very necessary,” Strabala said.

The double-room rate will help him financially as well, he said.

“I love having a single room and being able to have my privacy, so knowing I’ll be able to pay less for it in the fall will be great,” Strabala said.

Bouhl said freshmen and sophomore students who live in University Hall this year may move to other campus residence halls for fall if they want to remain in University Housing.