September 14, 2023

93-bed ‘semi-suite' dorm coming to Gonzaga

Rendering courtesy of Gonzaga University [enlarge]

Spokane-based Wolfe Architectural Group designed the new dorm.

Construction is underway on a new dormitory at 802 E. Sharp Ave., on the northeast corner of the Gonzaga University campus in Spokane.

The new dorm will be three stories and approximately 24,400 square feet. It will house 93 beds, specifically for sophomore students, in addition to a faculty-in-residence unit. The dorm, which is currently called Gonzaga Hall, is expected to open in fall 2024.

Wolfe Architectural Group designed the building, which is being built by Walker Construction. Both firms are based in Spokane. Three university-owned buildings were demolished to make way for the new dorm: a single-family home, a triplex and an apartment building.

The university successfully applied to the city of Spokane for a rezone of the site for the 55-foot-tall, high-density residence hall.

Estimated construction costs are around $5 million.

Gonzaga says the new dorm encapsulates a “contemporary take on semi-suite living.” The dorm has semi-private bathrooms, which are shared by four students. Amenities have been designed to promote high levels of community engagement. These include a large ground floor community kitchen, a seminar classroom where students will be able to take courses in their building, and well-appointed common areas that double as enhanced living rooms.

Gonzaga Hall will be the first new housing to open in a larger sophomore housing village that the university is developing at the northeast corner of the campus, which will help meet the need for more upper-division housing by freeing up existing housing stock. This need was discovered in a market study by the university's housing master plan consultants. That study revealed the university to be short by 800 beds for upper-division students and graduate students. Gonzaga requires students to live on campus for their first two years.