Forty-one years after the UI last built a residence hall, one member of the state Board of Regents suggests it’s time for a new one.

Regent Robert Downer of Iowa City said at the board’s last meeting that the UI should consider building a new dormitory to help alleviate its current housing problems.

The UI has long operated at full or above capacity in its housing, forcing students to be placed in temporary housing each year, Downer noted.

He said he believes a new complex would improve student academic performance and retention rates.

“I would like the new residence hall to roughly house 700 to 800 students,” Downer said.

Downer said he thinks the UI should demolish Quadrangle Residence Hall, the UI’s oldest dorm complex, and build a new facility in its place.

The UI last built a new dorm in 1968, when it constructed Slater Hall. At that time, the UI had half the enrollment it does now.

At present, the university has more than 5,000 students in nine residence halls. At the start of the semester, 138 students were living in temporary housing, up from last year’s 112.

To further Downer’s proposal, UI officials need to develop an initial plan and present it to the regents.

However, Downer said, the regents have not yet filed a resolution directing the university to take action.

UI junior Clayton Schommer, who lived in Quadrangle for two years, said he thought the university should look further into the issue.

“If the only issue is old facilities, then I think that a facelift would be sufficient,” he said. “But if the issue is too many students and not enough room, then a new dorm should be looked into.”

Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa are not facing similar problems to those of the UI, Downer said.

ISU predicted higher enrollment numbers when it added new facilities years ago, he said, and officials overbuilt the school’s housing infrastructure. Occupancy dropped to ranges around 80-90 percent.

Because the UI operates at more than 100 percent capacity, the school earns more money from room and board than ISU and UNI annually. If a new complex is constructed, funding would come from reserves and bonds paid with revenue gained from housing income.

“Funds would be strictly from the housing department,” said Downer, and separate departments can’t take money from others.

The regent said he hopes the board can take up the issue by spring.