Ringling College plans 185-student residence hall

As Ringling College of Art and Design expands its academic footprint in north Sarasota, the school is now pitching a $22 million project to accommodate more students.

Ringling has filed a site plan with the city for a three-story, 50-unit residence hall overlooking Whitaker Bayou on the east side of campus. The building is slated house as many as 185 students and includes a pedestrian bridge connecting it to current student housing across the waterway, according to the site plan application.

The school aims to finish the project before the fall semester in 2018. It will cost prospective students roughly $8,550 per school year to live in the coming residence hall.

Ringling currently has 950 student units, meaning the new development would increase capacity

The proposal is taking shape as Ringling opened the Alfred R. Goldstein Library and continues work on the Richard and Barbara Basch Visual Arts Center and the Ringling College Soundstage and Post-Production Complex.

Admission has steadily grown at the institution. Last year, Ringling saw its largest freshman class; applications are up 20% this year; and international students now make up 20% of the approximately 1,400 enrolled students — compared to just 6% in 2006.

Looking 10 years ahead, Ringling College President Larry Thompson said enrollment could grow as large as 2,000 undergraduates, with another 200 or so in a potential graduate program. And he hopes to continue diversifying the curriculum, exploring things like virtual-reality based majors.

“We’re among the top art and design colleges in the country,” he said. “I’m not satisfied with that. I want to become the preeminent one worldwide. I think we’re on a fast track to get there.”