Waterville Planning Board members sign site plans Tuesday night for a new Colby College residence hall, after voting 6-0 to approve final plans for the project. Behind the table, from left: April Chiriboga, Cassie Julia, Tom DePre and David Johnson. Holly MacKenzie, project manager for Colby, stands in front of the table at the City Hall Annex at 46 Front St. Amy Calder/Morning Sentinel

WATERVILLE — The Planning Board approved final plans Tuesday night for a new residence hall on the Colby College campus that would house 217 students beginning in the fall of 2026.

The vote followed a brief discussion and questions about the 109,000-square-foot building, to be built on Mayflower Hill Drive, north of and diagonally across the street from the new, 72,000-square-foot Gordon Center for Creative and Performing Arts.

Holly MacKenzie, project engineer in Colby’s facilities services department, said site utility relocation will be done in the summer and fall, with construction to begin in the fall.

On April 23, MacKenzie presented informal pre-application plans for the building, to be named The Residence on Mayflower Hill Drive. She said the building will help accommodate Colby’s past and continuing growth and alleviate a housing crunch. It is to be built at the corner of Cotter Drive and Mayflower Hill Drive, on what is now a wooded and grassy area.

Landry/French Construction of Scarborough is the contractor for the project, according to MacKenzie. She declined to reveal the project cost.