When they return for classes next semester, students now living in Mariposa Hall will find their old home a new pile of dust and rubble.
The south-campus residence hall will be destroyed at the end of the fall semester to make way for a new, modern student housing complex.
Residential Life placed students in Mariposa this semester in order to accommodate a high demand for student housing, said Patricia Arredondo, associate vice president and University dean of student affairs.
Mariposa residents will be moved to other residence halls this semester as beds open up.
All students living in Mariposa were informed that their placement in the hall was temporary, Arredondo said.
But residents don't know when they'll have to move.
"They didn't give us any exact date of when we're going to move," pre-med freshman Crystal Williams said. "I don't want to fully unpack because I'm afraid as soon as I do they're going to say, 'OK, time to move.'"
Marketing freshman Jennifer Sandoval said she wasn't bothered by the prospect of moving.
"Just as long as I get a dorm to live in," she said.
If approved by a joint ASU-Tempe committee and the Tempe City Council, ASU will replace Mariposa with a larger mixed-use, student-housing complex for upperclassmen.
"The goal is not to house freshmen in that community," said Sylvester Chestnut, assistant director of Residential Life.
The 1,860-bed, apartment-style complex would include retail projects and is scheduled to open in August 2008.
It will have 607 units in one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom floor plans. Each bedroom will have its own bathroom.
The three-bedroom floor plan will be designed for four residents, with two residents sharing one bedroom and bathroom, said Gina Cowart, a spokeswoman for the project's developer.
The South Campus Student Housing Project will be a partnership between ASU and American Campus Communities, a Texas-based company that operates student housing projects both on and off of campuses nationwide, company and University officials said.
The company operates The Village on University and The Villas on Apache, two nearby apartment complexes that cater to students.
Chestnut said he was unable to comment on any specifics about the project because the University is still in contractual negotiations with the developer.
Cowart said her company will "develop and manage" the facility, but couldn't comment further on the specific roles of the developer or the University.
She said the complex would have space for community assistants, probably one for each floor. They would be charged with responsibilities similar to those of resident assistants in traditional residence halls.
The assistants would enforce rules and provide recreational and educational opportunities, she said.
Cowart declined to specify which rules the company would enforce, but said it would handle minor policy infractions. More serious situations would be referred to the Department of Public Safety, she said.
Cowart said the new complex would be a positive addition to the ASU campus.
"We're working closely with the University to provide much-needed housing to their students," she said.
Reach the reporter at: jonathan.cooper@asu.edu.
