UD eliminating its West campus

• UD is closing two dormitory complexes at the end of this school year - Dickinson and Rodney halls.
• Freshmen will be housed in the renovated Harrington and new Academy Street complexes.

The University of Delaware plans to close two aging dormitory complexes at the end of the school year, eliminating the school's West campus, school officials announced Thursday.

Located off Hillside Road, the West campus hosts the John Dickinson and Caesar Rodney residence hall complexes, both built in 1966.

Each has "reached the end of their useful life as high-quality housing" and will be closed after students move out in May 2015, a spokeswoman said.

"Due to their age, the Rodney and Dickinson complexes' infrastructures and systems will continually be susceptible to failure," Alan Brangman, UD's vice president for facilities, said in a statement.

University administration hasn't decided how the property will be used in the future, but the buildings won't be immediately demolished, Brangman added.

"We will ensure the buildings' future fits within the university's strategic plans and will be sensitive to the needs of our neighbors and the city of Newark," he said.

Once the facilities close, police will increase patrols in the area and monitor the site with video surveillance, said Andrea Boyle Tippett, a university spokeswoman.

"We want to still ensure it's a safe space, so we'll keep an eye on it," Tippett said.

Housing for freshmen in Dickinson and Rodney halls is expected to be replaced by the new Academy Street complex (now under construction across from the Perkins Student Center) and the renovated Harrington complex, when they open next fall, she said.

Last fall, UD dedicated two dormitories, Louis Redding and Eliphalet Gilbert halls, on the East campus.

The school has the capacity to house approximately 7,000. Most students must live on campus as freshmen, but many move off campus by their junior and senior years.

Contact Melissa Nann Burke at (302) 324-2329, mburke@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @nannburke.