After about 500 upperclassmen were denied on-campus housing for the upcoming school year, plans have been made to renovate South Halls to decrease the number of dorm rooms and make remaining space more livable.

The renovation to South Halls includes installing new windows, drywall and air-conditioning in dorms, said Jennifer Garvin, director of ancillary services.

Beginning in summer 2012, two residence halls will be taken “off-line” at a time to be renovated, she said.

Last year, the Housing and Food Services department conducted a feasibility study on the project, Stan Latta, department director, said. It was decided that smaller student groups will benefit from the renovation, he said.

Design plans have been introduced to install suites in South Halls, he said. The suites would be complete with a living room, private baths, kitchen and lounge area. The project may be the solution for smaller groups looking to live together, Latta said.

“We would think about moving our sororities and some of our smaller fraternities into the area,” Latta said.

Latta said there would also be some architecture changes to add some “character, class and warmth” to the buildings so they aren’t as linear.

University spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said she was not aware of any further plans to expand on-campus housing.

Plans to convert Simmons Dining Hall into a living space are scheduled to go forward, Garvin said. The project, which will begin in the spring, is expected to create about 70 dorm rooms, she said.

These projects come after another year of increased requests to live on-campus.

Room assignments were posted on eliving.psu.edu yesterday — and about 900 students were assigned to supplemental housing, Garvin said. The number of students in supplemental housing has increased as popularity and demand for on-campus housing has risen.

Until more housing options are available, the housing office will try to do all they can to make students comfortable, Garvin said.

As regular dorm space becomes available, students in supplemental — who were notified of their housing placement last year — will be offered the opportunity to move. The housing service decides who to offer to leave supplemental by the date that students accepted the offer of admission.

This year, the amount of students assigned to supplemental housing is at a “standard” level, Garvin said.

With the expected loss of some students, Garvin said supplemental housing will “come to a really good number for everyone to be comfortable.”