The Board of Trustees greenlighted $130 million Friday to build what will be GW’s costliest residence hall.

The 850-bed building will merge The West End, Schenley and Crawford residence halls and include 64,000 square feet of student common areas and retail space along I Street.

Students will likely move into the hall, colloquially known as “the superdorm,” by fall 2016, when the University’s lease with City Hall, which houses about 400 juniors, expires.

The building will house mostly sophomores and juniors in singles, two-bedroom or affinity housing units, allowing for living-learning communities with students and faculty. Strengthening ties between academics and campus life was stressed in the GW’s strategic plan draft, which was released last week.

The H Street hall will be campus’ second largest after Thurston Hall, which houses about 1,000 freshmen.

South Hall, the last residence hall constructed in Foggy Bottom, cost about $75 million and included 400 beds. It opened in fall 2009.