Finding an ideal living situation is a never-ending quest for
college students. In the next week students can take another stab
at it and apply for 82 previously-unavailable spots in the Grand
Forest apartments. The spots are within the 12 buildings slated for
demolition on the future site of the on-campus arena.

Construction of the arena has been delayed because sufficient
funds have not been raised. “We made an absolute commitment to make
(the arena project) revenue neutral,” said Bob Woodruff, chief
financial officer for Saint Louis University. “We don’t have enough
of the fund-raising goal to know with certainty that we could go
forward during the academic year,” Woodruff said.

The University has received commitments of $12 million toward
the $40 million project. Woodruff said that the goal is to have 100
percent of the money committed to the project, and 75 percent of
the money in hand before construction begins.

Applications for the Grand Forest spaces will be available
online on April 27, and are due to the Department of Housing and
Residence Life by May 3. Priority will be given to current Grand
Forest residents who filled out intent forms for next year. Next,
groups wishing to move together will be ranked by their average
number of semesters on campus, credit hours and GPA. The third
priority level will be given to individuals, and they will be
ranked in the same way.

“You’re going to have a better chance if you go in a group,”
said Argyle Wade, director of Housing and Residence Life.

Students currently living in one of the 82 spots can invoke
squatter’s rights as long as they have turned in an intent form and
all roommates remain within the apartment. However, if a student
who wishes to remain loses a roommate, it is possible that he or
she will be relocated in order to consolidate the spaces, according
to Wade.

“The goal is to fill apartments as a whole and to keep people
together,” Wade said.

Residents of Grand Forest can still expect some activity on the
rest of the arena site, however, according to Woodruff.

There is a “water issue” that has not been fully explored,
Woodruff said. There will be borings and other tests on the site,
then an engineering plan will be made to deal with the water.

Woodruff said that it is likely that the arena will be opened
during fall months because they are the busiest. With a 20-month
construction schedule and the delays, the earliest that the arena
could open would be fall of 2006. Naming rights for the arena,
which will bring in revenue after construction is complete, are
still in negotiation.