Plans have begun for a total renovation of Perkins and Smith residence halls. The Office of Planning, Design and Construction and facilities managers of Resident Life and Student Housing are working to create a project plan that is expected to begin in the next one to two years.

Trisha Mehis, the Senior Project Manager, said the project is currently in the early stages of a feasibility study. This phase is used to define the layout of the floor plan, building use, programming, and eventually set a time line for the project. Mehis expects to have these plans by mid to late fall of this year.

Perkins and Smith Halls currently house first-year members of the Hilltop Scholars program and include a classroom for the program. Mehis said tentative plans for the dorms would take the form of a Residential commons — including classrooms, student dorms, and faculty and staff offices.

The residential building project underway on the south side of campus will follow the same format, Mehis said. These dorms will not be complete until August 2014.

Mehis said the actual construction phase of Perkins and Smith is not yet set, but is expected to last longer than a summer break. Thus, the halls will be closed during one or more semesters over the next two years.

Susan Austin, the Associate Director of Facilities Operations for RLSH said room assignments have not yet been made for Perkins and Smith; however, the residence halls and the Hilltop Scholars program are expected to be at full capacity this fall.

Perkins and Smith are receiving few improvements this summer, Austin said, as the total renovation project is in the near future.

Current plans for the renovation project are subject to change throughout the feasibility stage, Mehis said. When the timeline and plans for the project are set, RLSH will set up a plan for housing first-year students without the use of Perkins and Smith Halls.