Wichita State News: Campus life

Construction of new Wichita State residence hall moves forward

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 14:15:00 CST

Wichita State University held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, June 11, to celebrate construction of the new residence hall.

Farha Construction and Dondlinger & Sons will officially break ground Monday, June 17. Plans are for the building to be complete and ready for students to move in for the fall 2014 semester.

The $65 million residence hall will be in the parking lot south of Cessna Stadium. The hall will be paid for by revenue bonds. Housing revenues will be used over a period of time to repay the bonds.

The lot is no longer available for parking. Some of the handicapped-accessible spaces have been relocated to Alumni Drive.

The loss of about 750 parking spaces will be offset somewhat with the addition of 400 parking spaces along 21st Street east of Corbin Education Center. Those spaces are scheduled to be available in mid- to late-July.

Even with the parking lot going offline, there should be ample parking for students attending summer school at Wichita State.

New and improved

Mostly first-year students and some returning students will reside in the new residence hall. Several room configurations will be available — singles, standard doubles, double rooms with two singles, and quad rooms with four single rooms. Some will have small living room areas.

Each floor will have a laundry room, community kitchen and lounge area.

After completion of the new residence hall, Wheatshocker Apartments and Brennan Halls will no longer be residence halls. Plans are to raze those buildings for future development. Fairmount Towers will be available for returning students only.

Construction to start soon on new Wichita State residence hall

Thu, 9 May 2013 07:30:00 CST

Construction of a new five-story residence hall at Wichita State University will start soon after Memorial Day.

The new residence hall will help energize campus and provide exceptional access to academic and recreational opportunities for students who will live near the heart of the campus.

The new residence hall will house about 770 students and be located between Cessna Stadium and Morrison Hall. A new 400-seat dining hall will be attached to the residence hall.

The project will cost about $60 million and be paid for by revenue bonds. Housing revenues will be used over a period of time to repay the bonds.

Ready for fall 2014

Plans are for the residence hall to be completed and ready for students to occupy by the start of the 2014 fall semester.

Each floor will have a laundry room, community kitchen and lounge area.

The private/public partner developer selected by the university was EdR of Memphis, Tenn. The lead design architect is Page Southerland Page (PSP) LLP from Denver, Colo. PSP is working with local architects Howard and Helmer and MKEC Engineers.

Dondlinger and Sons Construction and Farha Construction are the construction team under EdR.

To help alleviate the loss of about 750 parking spaces, work also will begin this month on paving the existing Heskett Center intramural field along 21st Street. The new parking lot will accommodate around 400 vehicles.

Work on the new parking lot will begin soon after commencement on May 17 and 18, and will be open in time for the start of fall semester classes on Aug. 19.

Cornejo and Sons LLC will construct the new lot. The parking lot project will cost about $500,000 and be paid by Wichita State's parking system funds.

Plans are to construct a new replacement playfield and renovate the existing field at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex this summer and fall, with the project to be completed during fall 2013.

Campus involvement was key to success for Wichita couple

Fri, 3 May 2013 15:18:00 CST

There are many parallels in the lives of Wichita State alumni Kris and Leslie Wessel.

They were both Jabara scholars. Both real estate majors. Before even graduating, they managed to get part- and full-time jobs in their field. And today, they're both working as real estate agents in Wichita.

Oh, and they're married to each other.

With such similar experiences, it's not surprising that Kris and Leslie also agree on the most valuable part of their time at Wichita State: campus involvement.

"I'd say the biggest influence on my experience at WSU and success since would be being involved on campus while I was there, including on-campus housing, different organizations and our Greek system," Leslie said. "Our best friends and quite a few of my clients still come from those connections that Kris and I wouldn't have made otherwise."

The student experience

Leslie graduated in 2006, and since then she's worked for The Carnahan Group at J.P. Weigand & Sons Inc. Kris, who graduated in 2005, works for The Martens Cos. He started there when he was a junior and has been there since.

They've been married for seven years and have a 2-year-old son, Kasten.

There's a bit of disagreement on where they met: Kris said it was at an event for Jabara Scholarship winners. Leslie said they first met as part of the same student organization, SIFE.

"I like to tease her, because I was apparently not too memorable the first time, and she does not remember our first introduction," Kris said. "We met again through SIFE, and I was apparently more memorable the second time."

Regardless, they said, it was more than just attending classes that made the difference.

Leslie is a big proponent of living on campus for at least a year. She lived in Fairmount Towers and Wheatshocker Apartments, and Kris lived in the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house.

"I think it is very important to be involved on campus," Kris said. "Education is your purpose for being there, but the college experience is what makes you a whole person.

Taking part in the campus life opportunities is what helped Kris become a well-rounded person and not just a good student.

"I cured a lot of my shortcomings over those four years," he said. "In my campus involvement, I met a lot of other students who didn't fit into the same mold I did. You can learn a lot from someone who has different talents than you do."

Stepping stones

Also vital to their career success was the ability to find a related job in real estate while they earned degrees. It got their foot in the door of the industry, helped build their resume and gave them experience beyond the classroom.

It's one of the benefits of going to college in an urban environment, Kris said.

"There are tons of degree-holding college grads out there, so it is important to have some kind of advantage over the other candidates," he said. "In a city like Wichita, there are a lot of opportunities that you don't get in a smaller college town."

The job he had as appraisal assistant at The Martens Cos. was the perfect complement to his coursework, Kris said.

Midway through her junior year, Leslie got a job at Ritchie Development as a new home sales consultant assistant. She worked there until shortly after graduation.

She worked full time while taking classes at night.

"The position was key in giving me real estate sales and management experience, getting my Realtor's license and a great stepping stone to where I am now."