FARMINGTON — The idea of on-campus living with an off-campus lifestyle is appealing to students at the University of Maine at Farmington.

Lockwood Hall has been empty for the past two years, said Brian Ufford, director of Housing and Residential Life. It is a sign of lower enrollment and student cost-saving measures.

In an effort to change that status, the dormitory is changing to cooperative housing, which offers some savings and the freedom of apartment living while still in the midst of campus activities. 

Students were signing up for the rooms Thursday and they were going quickly.

Of the 52 rooms available, only 14 were left by early afternoon, said Robyn Raymond, assistant director of Housing and Residential Life. About 75 students are expected to occupy the dorm which formerly housed about 120 students.

“I can opt out of the meal plan and have a bigger room,” Nicky Hodgkins of Auburn said as she signed on. “I can organize my life the way I want.”

The rooms will remain the same but only one student will occupy the space which formerly housed two students. A few rooms will be set aside for double occupancy, Ufford said.

A multipurpose kitchen and dining room will be constructed on the first floor this summer, he said. Much of the expected savings for students will come from cooking for themselves.

Internet, electricity and utilities are included in the cost of $2,862 for a single room per semester, he said. Providing their own meals, they can save on a medium-level food plan, a $1,950 cost per semester.

In cooperative living, the students are expected to share in some cleaning, community development and provision of dorm recreation opportunities. Janitors will clean bathrooms, but students may vacuum the common areas or sweep the stairs, he said.

The students will be self-governed. No Community Assistants, previously called Resident Assistant, will have a role. An adviser will be there at first to assist the students and help them get the cooperative lifestyle started, Ufford said.

Cooperative campus living is a popular concept across the country, he said. He thought UMF might be the first within the UMaine system to try it.

“It becomes a close community,” he said of the expected occupants who will be  juniors and seniors.

Most students start in the traditional dormitories but consider moving off campus to an apartment after a year or two, he said. This provides them more freedom while still being close to the Fitness Center and other activities. Lockwood is directly behind Mallett Hall.

Students will draft their own charter, and Ufford expects they will uphold and respect the residential opportunity because they are choosing it rather than being placed.

Another residential space, Frances Allen Black Hall, provides suite-style living with four single rooms, a bathroom and a common area in each suite, he said.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net