[media-credit name=”Courtesy of Quinnipiac University” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]The Hamden Planning and Zoning Commission approved the university’s plans to build a new residence hall on York Hill, according to Vice President for Public Affairs Lynn Bushnell.

The residence hall will house seniors and feature air-conditioned single rooms. There will also be three community rooms to provide more space for student organizations to hold meetings. The North Residence Hall will be built behind Crescent toward the parking garage on the York Hill campus.

“The university proposes to construct 220 residential beds contained in six interconnected dormitory buildings on the York Hill Campus,” the university stated in its zoning application. “Most of the related utilities and all of the required parking spaces for these units were previously constructed as part of the various prior approvals for the other dormitories currently existing on this campus.”

North Residence Hall will consist of six six-floor towers, all connected via corridor. The first floor of the building will be comprised of five single bedrooms, two bathrooms, washer and dryer, a living room, dining room and a kitchen. Floor two will have eight or nine bedrooms, depending on the final build, and three bathrooms.

The third, fourth and sixth floors of the residence hall are the same as the first.While the fifth floor is a mirror image of the second floor.

The lower level of the building will consist of office spaces, mechanical, electrical and water rooms, meeting rooms and a chapter room. Additionally, the lower level will feature storage space, men’s, women’s and unisex bathrooms.

The blueprints come from civil engineering firm, Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates, located in Chester.

Students are excited for the expansion. Senior finance major John Corea Jr. is pleased to hear about the new dorms for the sake of incoming students.

“When I was a sophomore, I was privileged to get to live in Old Village on main campus.” Corea said. “I hope that as a result of these new dorms, all freshman and sophomores could enjoy main campus; it is unfair to have students only spend one year on main campus.”

While some students are excited about the recent approval, they remain aware of the wetland area behind the Crescent.

“It is definitely vital to the school’s growth,” junior biology major Emilio Zullo said. “The downside of this expansion is the threat this dorm building may have on the wetland conservation area located directly next to the campus.”

This is not the first time that the uiversity proposed plans of new residence halls to the Hamden Palnning and Zoning Commission, in recent years, but is the first time that the plans were approved. The university submitted plans for an additional 600 beds in 2013 and 300 beds in 2015, neither of which were approved.