A Boston construction company with a wealth of experience in building university and hotel complexes has been named general contractor for the new, $36 million South Campus residence halls.

Suffolk Construction Co., a 100-year-old family firm, submitted the low bid on the four-building complex, which includes housing for nearly 700 students and a 70,000-square-foot dining hall and conference center. The project is expected to be completed by September 1998.

The company has extensive experience in college and university construction projects, including science centers at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and at the University of New Hampshire; athletic facilities at the University of Massachusetts and at Roxbury Community College; fine arts facilities at Vassar and Regis College in Weston, Mass.; and dormitories at Bridgewater State College that feature the same housing arrangement as UConn's new residence halls - quad suites, with two double bedrooms connected by a living area.

Suffolk, which outbid four other contractors for the job, began excavating the site in mid-June. RAV