Construction is underway on a new $12.7 million, 92-bed student residential hall at Gonzaga University.

The new building, dubbed Mantua Hall, is named after a northern Italian city that was once ruled by the Gonzaga family, which transformed the area from a modest settlement to a thriving town, according to information provided by the university.

The project site is located at the southeast corner of Sharp Avenue and Cincinnati Street, at 802 E. Sharpe, on the northeastern edge of the Gonzaga campus.

Spokane-based Walker Construction Inc. is the general contractor and Wolfe Architectural Group PS, also of Spokane, is the architect, Spokane permit records show.

The building is expected to open to students next January.

Mantua Hall residents will house suites with a mix of one, two, or four bedrooms, and each suite will have its own bathroom, design plans show. 

The three-story structure also will feature a common area connected to a common kitchen on the first floor that will lead to an outdoor patio. The second floor will have recreational equipment and active space, and the third floor will feature group workspaces. Each floor also will include a small study area.

Design plans for the project show 18 beds on the first floor and 37 beds each on the second and third floors.

Mantua Hall is about 5,000 square feet larger for the same number of occupants at student residential halls that were constructed in the 2000s, according to Gonzaga's website.

As previously reported in the Journal, more student housing is needed at Gonzaga to accommodate enrollment that has increased steadily since 2009.

Gonzaga's policy also requires freshman and sophomores to live on campus, unless the students are Spokane residents.

"In designing the building, we wanted to create a space that meets the needs of second-year students," Matt Lamsma, dean of student development, says in a May press release about the development. "We're attempting to accomplish a blend between the need for privacy and community."