The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee received a $100,000 housing grant from the Department of Commerce Wednesday.

The grant, given to the UWM Real Estate Foundation, is being put toward a $28.6 million, 119-unit student dormitory in the campus neighborhood. The new dorm, which will overlook the Milwaukee River, is set to house more than 400 UWM students.

Limited housing continues to be a problem at UWM due to the fact that there are only three residence halls. Although the university provides enough housing for 3,000 students each year, about 27,000 students attend UWM.

"We have a tremendous need for housing at UWM; most of the students that apply to UWM request student housing," Housing Director Scott Peak said. "We denied housing to over 1,500 students this year."

Barbro McGinn, senior communications specialist with the Department of Commerce, said the department chose Milwaukee for the grant because it saw a chance to help clean up the area surrounding the university.

"Their program includes cleaning up blighted areas, and we saw an opportunity to help out their effort in good faith," McGinn said.

McGinn also said the university's need for additional dorms played into the department's decision.

"Most everybody knows of the critical shortage of dorms in that area, and there is a lot of difficulty in securing housing," she added. "We hope the new dorms will lighten that."

Despite the grant's effort to provide additional student housing, Peak said there will still be a large number of students who have to find their own off-campus housing.

"Even after the new dorm is up, we will continue to look for new ways to provide students with university housing," Peak said.

The $100,000 grant is set to help pay for the $1 million environmental cleanup of the four-acre site. The dorm site, which has already undergone some preparation work, should be completed by fall 2007.