GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, NJ-Construction is just under way for the Housing IV project, a four-building residential complex on the campus of the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey here. The $29.8-million complex will add 256 beds to the residential component of the institution, a state-supported school in the Pomona section of this South Jersey township.

"This is a significant step in the progress of our facilities master plan," says college president Herman J. Saatkamp Jr. "More students want the total experience of living on campus, and the complex will help us meet the demand and create an environment to promote the 'living-learning' philosophy."

The complex, when completed, will consist of four three-story buildings housing 64 students each. Each building will be approximately 26,000 sf, or a total of 104,000 sf, and the layout will be apartment-style rather than standard dormitory.

"The design is market-driven," says Thomasa Gonzales, dean of students. "The students have told us what they prefer, and they say they are willing to pay more to get what they want."

The first two buildings of the complex, adjacent to the college's Lakeside Center, are slated for delivery by the end of this year, with the second two buildings expected to be completed by mid-2008. The plan also calls for a second phase that will add an additional 125 beds by the end of 2008.

The project will have all of its utilities underground, including geothermal wells, according to project manager Joe Feuchack with Skanska USA Building Inc. of Parsippany, which is building the complex. The overall design is by Hillier Architects of Princeton.