New spiritually-themed student apartments are being built on the University of Wisconsin campus.

The new building, called the Pres House, is run by the Presbyterian Campus Ministry and will house about 280 students next fall.

According to co-pastor Mark Elsdon, the Pres House will be a spiritual learning community open to students of all faith backgrounds.

"We hope that we can find and engage people on campus and they can find a spiritual home, literally at the Pres House," Elsdon said.

The Pres House is being built next to the Presbyterian Church, which has owned the land for 75 years. Construction started on the Pres House last summer.

Elsdon and his wife, also a pastor, will live in the building and be available to students.

"I hope it will be a unique environment for students to live in," he said. "There are not many places in the public university setting for students to develop their faith."

The apartments are focused around four main ideas, Elsdon said.

"Academic pursuit is the first priority, personal responsibility to the residents and their neighbors, respect for others religions, and a value in spiritual exploration," Elsdon said.

The Pres House will have voluntary discussion groups in the common areas — House Fellows (resident assistants) will try to create community and lead discussion, Elsdon said.

"We will also have service opportunities and mission trips for the residents," Elsdon said.

According to Elsdon, the concept has been discussed for a while.

"We learned from (University of California)-Berkeley that Pres House can work," he said.

Cal-Berkeley has a similar setup called the Westminster House, according to the university's Web site, which is also run by Presbyterian University Ministry.

According to Elsdon, it is the only other student housing run by the Presbyterian Church.

Pres House is not publicly funded, he said.

"Pres House is actually closer than a lot of dorms and is right next to the library and Union," Elsdon said.

According to its Web site, UW-Madison has many university housing diversity programs but none with a primary religious orientation.

According to Jim McMahon, vice president and dean of Residence Life, Marquette does not have any religious housing, but is examining other specialty housing options.

"We are seriously looking at other themed housing like a healthy living floor, a social justice floor or a language floor," he said.

According to McMahon, Residence Life received a recommendation from a consultant that initiated the idea of themed housing.

"We want to engage with students to see if there is a demand," McMahon said.

"Specialty housing is very much a trend at many campuses," he said. "We look to remain competitive with other schools and to do that we would offer different housing options."

According to the Residence Life office, Marquette currently offers three engineering floors in Carpenter Tower, one nursing floor in Cobeen Hall and three honors floors in Straz Tower.

Residence Life also offers the McCormick Hall Inclusive Leadership CommUNITY where, according to McMahon, the floor is designed for students who want to share their culture and learn about other cultures. They also take a one-and-a-half hour class where they meet in small groups and talk about their experiences.

The Global Village, housed in Campus Town West, is a mix of student ambassadors and exchange students is a social and educational network for those interested in learning more about other cultures.