One of the new facilities will be located along Wooster Street, on the site of the current Rodgers Quadrangle and the Sigma Phi Epsilon and Phi Kappa Tau fraternities, while the other will be built in what is now a commuter parking lot north of Offenhauer Towers. The two sites were selected because of their proximity to academic buildings.
Rodgers, which has been closed this academic year in anticipation of change, and the two fraternity houses will be demolished in the spring to clear the way for construction of the new Wooster Street building. The approximately 60 students in the two fraternity houses will move after fall semester ends next month; the University has given them options for different on-campus housing.
Part of a long-term makeover of BGSU residence and dining halls, the two new halls are expected to be ready for students by August 2011, at an estimated cost of $30-$40 million.
The two displaced fraternities will be given first preference on new houses in a campus "Greek Village" scheduled for construction several years from now.
The new residence halls could be one or two buildings at each site, with more than 800 beds combined. The new hall north of Offenhauer will be suite-style to appeal to upperclassmen, while the one replacing Rodgers will have a community setting with single and double beds and more social spaces for students.