In Las Vegas, when an older hotel/casino has seen better days and can no longer meet the needs of current visitors, there is only one option for that old structure. It is demolished in typical over-done Las Vegas style and a new modern facility is put up in its place.

For instance, gone are the days of the Copa Room and the "Rat Pack" at the Sands. Today the modern and very large Venitian has taken its place. Or the Aladdin, famous for being the place where Elvis and Priscilla were married in 1967, was blown to bits and a newer, more attractive Aladdin was put up. Good luck finding the spot where "The King" tied the knot at the new place.

The same thing happens on university campuses, minus the fanfare of a Vegas-style demolition. With limited space and ever changing student needs, universities must take to heart the adage of "out with the old, in with the new."

Pacific Lutheran University, located in suburban Parkland, Washington has found that many of their junior and senior level students who were eligible to live off campus were doing just that. The only time they spent on campus was to go to class, and that was about it. With a sizable transfer population in the past year from junior colleges, that meant more students were coming to campus, but it also meant that more students were eligible to live off campus.

To make South Hall a reality, two older facilities, Delta Hall and Evergreen Court had to be demolished to make room for the 230-student residence. Since South Hall was opened, the number of students living on campus has increased by four percent over the 1999-2000 school year from 41 percent to 45 percent.

For PLU, the goal of keeping more students on campus meant building a newer, more modern residence facility. That meant the demolition of two older buildings that were no longer meeting the needs of the University. In June 1999, Delta Hall and Evergreen Court were demolished to make way for the new South Hall.

The 126-acre campus, with an enrollment of more than 3,500 students is six miles south of Tacoma, 40 miles south of Seattle, and 20 miles north of Olympia. Mount Rainier and the Washington coast are within two hours of campus, so it is a very inviting area to live off campus.

"Forty five percent of our students live on campus and 55 percent live off," said Jeff Jordan, Dean for Campus Life at PLU. "South Hall drew more students back to campus who were living off campus for this year and the year to come."

The percentage of students living in university housing at PLU is up from 41 percent in 1999-2000.

In order to make South Hall a reality, funding came from a bond issued through the Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority for $13 million. All of the money for South Hall came directly from the bond and included money for financing of the project, furnishings for the units and for landscaping around the building.

With Delta and Evergreen only memories, development of South Hall, a 230-student residence hall had begun. The facility is geared toward older students who like the convenience of a campus residence, but are interested in the privacy and independence of an apartment.

"It combines two seemingly opposite values," Jordan said.

All residents are at least 20-years-old or have junior standing. Married students are able to apply for residence in the one-bedroom loft apartments. Like many campuses across the nation, the number of older students on campus has increased and housing for them will increase as well. Of PLU's 3,500-plus students, 21 percent are 25 and older.

As the development proceeded, the need for an adequate stormwater facility became an issue.

"Having a stormwater facility that was acceptable and not just a bio-swell along the side of the parking lot was a very big issue for us," said Sheri Tonn, Ph.D., Vice President for Finance and Operations at PLU. "There is no regional stormwater system in our area, it is strictly dry wells.

"On every project, the county requires that we deal with all of our stormwater on site."

To find a solution to this issue, representatives from PLU, Pierce County, and Nakano Associates, the landscape architecture firm for the project, teamed to find a solution.

"It became difficult to fit in and develop into the landscape plan," said Dodi Fredericks, Project Manager for Nakano Associates. "A major facility was developed on another site, and the water was diverted to that facility, which was built by civil."

South Hall is located in the lower portion of the campus across the street from a university-owned golf course. The nearest building is two blocks away, so its connection to the rest of campus is remote at best. In order to increase green space and to bring South Hall more into the university's fold, sidewalks were added and a road was removed.

"A road was vacated to tie the landscaping into the area to the north which is a parking lot, to create a broader expanse of landscaped area," Tonn said. "It feels more a part of campus and you don't have to cross yet another street to reach South Hall."

Fredericks added that the turnaround to incorporate what was a street into the landscape happened pretty quickly, as one-third of the area was driveway to access the parking lot and two-thirds was open space.

The increase in open space also brought along increased concern from neighboring homes. Fredericks said that lighting in the area was increased and that presented some concern for the neighbors as they feared that increased lighting and greenspace would mean more noise and less privacy at night. To help ease these concerns, a large percentage of native plantings were used to separate the edge of campus from the neighborhood. The area is still an outdoor landscaped area for students to use, but now there is a separation from the neighborhood.

Overall, the plant palette was fairly simple according to Fredericks. It consisted of mostly native plants, drought tolerant plants, ornamental grasses, and plants that are low maintenance and require minimal water use.

Conifers were used for screening in the area where the street became new landscaped area.

"We had to be conscious of where we wanted areas to be open, but at the same time not walked all over," Jordan said about this area. "The trees are terrific, we planted Paper Back Maple and Oregon Ash on the edge of the roadway and in general landscaped areas."

The parking lot area is adorned with Norwegian Sunsets and Garry Oaks are planted around the building. Oaks are a common tree on campus, so this seemed to be a natural choice. The Garry Oaks are alternately planted with other trees that will grow quicker than the Garry Oaks, allowing for the landscape to look more full while the shapely Garry Oaks take their unique form.

Being able to get these trees in the trade is rare according to Fredericks. The Garry Oak (Quercus garryana) is found from southwestern British Columbia, through western Washington and Oregon and into Southern California, according to Sam Benvie's book "Encyclopedia of North American Trees."

Benvie states that the Garry Oak can reach 90 feet (27 m), and forms a straight single trunk supporting a rounded crown of stout, crooked, spreading branches. Garry Oaks can live to around 500 years, so these shapely trees will provide PLU with shade and aesthetic pleasure for years to come.

So far, since it opened last August, South Hall seems to be meeting the needs of the students at PLU who reside there. Feedback has been positive for the most part.

A bond issued through the Washington Higher Education Facilities Authority for $13 million allowed the South Hall development to become a reality. The plant palette was fairly simple as it consisted of mostly native plants, drought tolerant plants, ornamental grasses, and plants that are low maintenance and require minimal water use. Garry Oaks also were planted in the area around South Hall. The Oaks were alternately planted with other trees that will grow quicker than the Garry Oaks, allowing for the landscape to look filled in as the Oaks grow.

"I haven't heard one negative except that when we have four bedroom-two bath units where there are four guys living there, they say the refrigerator isn't big enough," Tonn said. "That's just about the only complaint I've heard." LASN