Lake Michigan College is planning to build a new residence hall.

The LMC board of Trustees this week approved a design contract to begin planning for the building. College Vice President of Advancement and Community Impact Doug Schaffer tells us with increasing enrollment, space has run out for students to live on campus.

“We have one residence hall with 194 beds, which are already at full capacity for fall of 2025,” Schaffer said. “We have another 126 students on a wait list, hoping for a spot to open between now and early September.”

With the price of apartments in the area, many prospective students struggle finding a place to live. Schaffer says this ought to help.

So, what’s planned?

“Similar structure, but just want to maybe lower the price point a little bit so that this residence hall might be more of a classic freshman first-year dorm, not the full apartment style like our current residence hall has. So, that would provide a little bit more diversity in the type of spaces available.”

The current residence hall was built in 2013. The contract approved by the board this week would cover engineering and design, and its cost is not to exceed $1,050,000. The cost of constructing the new hall would be another matter.

Schaffer says the college is moving ahead aggressively to get the project finished with a goal of moving students into the new hall in the fall of 2027.