Gonzaga University has received environmental approval from the city of Spokane for a planned two-building, 632-bed residence complex.


Dale Goodwin, a Gonzaga spokesman, says the university wont build the structure anytime soon, but is planning for long-term growth. The four-story housing complex would be a U-shaped residence hall that would face Hamilton Street on what now is an intramural soccer field, called Hamilton Field, at 816 N. Cincinnati, just east of the McCarthey Athletic Center. The first phase of that project currently is projected to cost $16.1 million, Goodwin says.


The university sought approval of the project under the State Environmental Policy Act as it prepares to make other campus modifications, including raising its competition soccer field, Martin Field, 18 inches to improve drainage. It also is building a new intramural soccer field directly north of there where tennis courts currently are located, and will build new tennis courts on property it owns near Mission Park.


Goodwin says the current Hamilton Field then will become available for potential future housing needs, but no definite timeframe has been set for building housing there.


Gonzagas enrollment increased 2.7 percent to 6,923 students this fall, Goodwin says. The school opened 220 new apartments on campus this year, and plans to open 195 more units next fall, he says. Also, the university is developing plans for a new parking garage and a new student center.