PUHI, Kaua'i — Construction on the new Frear Hall at the University of Hawai'i will start in November, replacing the original 140-bed dormitory with an 814-bed residence facility.

It's the first step in a multi-year plan to increase on-campus housing from roughly 3,000 beds to 5,000 beds by 2014. The Frear facility is expected to open by fall 2008, said Francisco Hernandez, the university's Manoa campus vice-chancellor for students.

The university's Board of Regents, meeting at Kaua'i Community College yesterday, approved a $71 million maximum for the construction, to be funded with $25 million in state general obligation bonds approved by the 2005 Legislature, and up to $46 million from a $100 million revenue bond issuance that the Legislature approved for university housing.

American Campus Communities and Swinterton Builders will build the new Mary Dillingham Frear Hall. The regents selected the contractor last year.

University vice president for administration Sam Callejo said the final contract price was still being negotiated, but regents chairwoman Kitty Lagareta said the cost is unlikely to be much lower than the $71 million maximum the regents set.

Students criticized the early design concepts for the new Frear Hall, but Hernandez said no configuration meets everyone's needs. Surveys suggested many students prefer units that are more like apartments, and that a large majority dislikes traditional dormitories. Fifty percent of those polled said they would not stay in a traditional dorm under any circumstances, Hernandez told the regents.

The Frear units are called apartments although they aren't quite apartments — but they're not traditional dorms, either. Hernandez said there are several rooming configurations, including some units that will have four rooms with one bed each and others that will consist of two two-bed units.

Hernandez said Frear will help meet the university's goal of increasing housing options on campus. Younger students tend to require more programs and oversight, while older students require more independent accommodations, he said.

The old Frear Hall, built in 1952 and closed for safety reasons in 1997, has been demolished.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.