Topeka ? A proposed $17.5 million apartment building for students, including student-athletes, near Allen Fieldhouse, has raised the concern of one member of the Kansas Board of Regents.

“I’m really struggling with the cost there,” Regents Vice Chairman Kenny Wilk said Monday.

KU is seeking authorization for a two-story, 49,500-square-foot building, which would be built along the west side of Naismith Drive, starting on the south end of the parking lot north of Oliver Hall and running north from there. All the parking spots taken up by the building would be replaced west of Oliver Hall.

The Fieldhouse Apartments would house 66 students, including 34 students who have at least 30 credit hours, and 32 student-athletes.

It is scheduled to be built in phases as donations and funding are available, KU spokesman Jack Martin said.

Martin said the same credit-hour minimum proposed for the new facility is in place at Jayhawker Towers, which also has a number of student-athletes.

“Jayhawker Towers have had a wait list for many years, so this project will help meet demand for on-campus apartments, as well as assisting in recruitment,” he said.

The furnished apartments will be operated and managed by the Division of Student Housing.

But Wilk said he was concerned that the construction cost comes out to about $265,000 per apartment, which, he said, was high. But Martin said the overall cost also includes a commons area, academic resource area, and parking.

The project will be funded through a combination of private funds and bond proceeds, according to a memo to the regents. “Fieldhouse Apartments will provide an apartment living environment unique among current offerings at the University of Kansas,” the memo said.

The proposal was discussed briefly during a meeting of the regents’ Fiscal Affairs and Audit committee. It will be considered by the full Board of Regents next week.

Wilk has requested that KU provide a more detailed explanation of the project at that meeting.

KU is requesting authorization to amend its 2014 capital improvements plan to include the project.

The timeline to construct the building is contingent on fundraising, but the goal is to start construction in March 2015 and complete it in July 2016.