Industry News - Stylish Living Comes to USF
12/5/2005
(Source, Meinhardt, Jane, Tampa Bay Business Journal, December 5, 2005)
ST. PETERSBURG - The University of South Florida's newest student housing is not your father's dormitory.
In fact, that word -- dormitory -- is seldom used today to refer to the places where students live on college and university campuses. Gone are the long halls, gang showers and small, shared rooms.
Instead, today's students expect the latest in connectivity, conveniences, privacy and apartment-style amenities.
Residence Hall One at the USF St. Petersburg campus epitomizes trends in student housing, a major recruiting tool for higher education institutions.
Expected to open next fall at Fifth Avenue South and Second Street, it is the campus' first student housing.
The seven-story building will provide 95 apartments and 354 beds, and have laundry facilities and lounge space on each floor.
It will have four-person apartments with double bedrooms, four-person apartments with private bedrooms and two-person, single bedroom units.
Every apartment will be furnished. Each will have bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen equipped with a range, microwave, refrigerator and garbage disposal.
The preliminary cost per student ranges from $4,500 to $6,100 per academic year, depending on the type of apartment. This includes all utilities, high-speed Internet and cable television.
Financed by a public bond issue, the $18.3 million residence hall was designed by KBJ Architects Inc., which has offices in Orlando and Jacksonville. Elkins Constructors Inc., based in Jacksonville, is the builder.
"This is the building of the future," said Charles Brown, associate VP of student affairs at the campus. "Housing is a big part of recruiting students from outside the area and making this a school of choice. This residence hall will do that."
It is difficult to tell at this point how quickly all beds in the new residence hall will be reserved.
Campus housing officials have received more than 100 inquiries from students about living in the new housing, but deposits cannot be accepted unless a student is admitted, Brown said. Admitting letters are sent out after December.
Students must carry six hours or more to live in the building, which ensures that "those who are truly students" occupy the housing, he said.
Set up to be independent, the residence hall is not a revenue source per se for USF. It is considered an auxiliary facility and has to pay for itself.
USF St. Petersburg will manage it and set policies. During the summer, USF can rent vacant suites for events and other purposes, Brown said.
Based on polls of USF St. Petersburg students who live off-campus, the cost of the living in Residence Hall One is comparable to other nearby housing.
"We are very competitive," Brown said. "I don't think students can find a better price downtown with all these amenities."
USF St. Petersburg plans to build a second residence hall as soon as possible. The goal is to start another phase of housing when the waiting list for the first building reaches 100 students.
Student housing facilities often are owned by private, not-for-profit university foundations, which means construction moves faster than with bond-financed projects, said William Mills Jr., president and CEO of University Housing Services Inc. in St. Petersburg.
Working for universities and colleges around the country, the company conducts needs assessments and focus groups for student housing and builds facilities based on the results.
"The idea is to get students back on campus by providing what they want," Mills said. "They want more privacy. Many kids have never shared a light switch with a brother or sister much less a shower with a stranger. Every bedroom we're doing is a single bedroom in housing with a much higher degree of privacy than ever before."
New College of Florida in Sarasota hired Harper Aiken Partners, an architectural firm with offices in Georgia and Florida, and The Folsom Group in Sarasota to design and plan new residence halls and renovations to three suite-style residence halls.
Officials from the firms and the college held three days of charrettes on campus to provide input on project plans. The firms proposed building three to six buildings for housing, which will be funded by a $24 million bond.
"We wanted a holistic look at housing, and what we came up with are some very provocative ideas," said Jake Hartvigsen, director of public affairs for the college. "We looked at campus life and residence hall space in a new perspective."
A series of what he called houses for students is what has been proposed. Each of the four houses will accommodate up to 32 students in two stories, with common areas, shared kitchens and courtyards.
A fifth residence facility would be more urban in design.
"What we're trying to do is address the diversity of students and what best suits their interests," Hartvigsen said. "There would be an assortment of housing that would form a townlike community with a common green area."
Construction of new housing will start next summer and be completed by fall 2007. With renovation of existing, more traditional housing, 750 beds will be available by 2008.
"New College is part of the movement recognized around the country that involves attempting to address the needs of students instead of looking for the lowest possible cost for housing the most students," Hartvigsen said.