News on AU Housing

[DeskPotato]

<p>

The D.C. Zoning Commission approved AU’s 2011 Campus Plan March 8 after nine months of hearings and nearly three years of discussions on the plan. </p>

<p>The plan allows the University to add 1,100 beds and provide on-campus housing for 67 percent of students by 2016, according to a March 21 memo from AU President Neil Kerwin.</p>

<p>Campus Plan approval included:</p>

<p>• Construction of East Campus (590 beds)</p>

<p>• Construction of North Hall (360 beds)</p>

<p>• Additions to Nebraska Hall (150 beds)</p>

<p>• Additions to Mary Graydon Center</p>

<p>• And the relocation of Washington College of Law to Tenley campus</p>

<p>The Zoning Commission will decide March 26 whether to approve construction to transform Tenley Campus into WCL. </p>

<p>AU can now begin construction on North Hall and additions to Nebraska Hall, which are scheduled for completion by fall 2013, The Eagle previously reported. North Hall will be located behind the President’s Office.</p>

<p>“The specific timetable is being worked on [for North Hall and Nebraska Hall],” Chief of Staff David Taylor said. “In general terms, we can project that both projects will start in late spring/early summer.”</p>

<p>East Campus will replace the current Nebraska parking lot and will house 590 students, down from the 765 beds proposed in January 2011, The Eagle previously reported.

</p>

<p>Apparently, they currently only have housing for 400 juniors and seniors. It sounds like everyone who wanted to live on campus got housing, perhaps because people thought it wasn’t worth it to enter a lottery for 400 beds divided among 3000 students! Adding more beds will probably pull more upperclassmen into the housing lottery, so it may remain an uncertain proposition for those students who prefer, for one reason or another, to stay on campus.</p>

<p>

All rising juniors and seniors that applied for on-campus housing by the application date can live on campus this fall.</p>

<p>Chris Moody, assistant vice president of Housing and Dining, said all requests were met because fewer than 400 rising juniors and seniors applied for on-campus housing. </p>

<p>A 2010 cap limited on-campus housing to 400 upperclassmen.</p>

<p>Moody attributes the lower demand to the lack of desirable options on campus for rising juniors and seniors. He said rising juniors and seniors tend to prefer suite- and apartment-style housing.</p>

<p>The Campus Plan will add more suite- and apartment-style housing in Nebraska Hall and North Hall.</p>

<p>Moody said the addition of more suite- and apartment-style rooms on AU’s campus will prompt more rising juniors and seniors to prefer to live on campus.</p>

<p>When Nebraska Hall opened in 2007, all 115 beds for rising juniors and seniors were filled that year, Moody said.</p>

<p>Moody said all 87 percent of current freshmen students who applied for on-campus housing for this fall received it.</p>

<p>Moody said the numbers for rising sophomores returning to campus are high compared to the national benchmark of 60 percent, according to a 2009 report by Brailsford and Dunlavey.</p>

<p>“The percentage is still really high when you consider some of those students are withdrawing or transferring,” Moody said.</p>

<p>AU instituted the 400-max cap on upperclassmen because there was a desire to permit rising sophomores to remain on campus and a shortage of available beds on campus.

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[bk4972b]

<p>Another perspective I can give is that many juniors and seniors don’t actually WANT to live on campus. Most of my senior friends actually want to live elsewhere and I know by junior year I won’t even want to be on AU campus.</p>

<p>Two reasons: (1) It’s much cheaper… as in the THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS cheaper, and (2) you can get tired of living on campus. </p>

<p>Just another perspective. It’s great the AU Campus Plan was approved!</p>

[Raito23]

<p>Where do people live off campus in D.C.? I imagine the real estate in that area is quite expensive and in demand and wouldn’t necessarily be affordable for college students</p>

[DeskPotato]

<p>There are certain apartment buildings that house many AU students.</p>

<p>Consider that students pay $10K/year to share a bedroom in a dorm. For a year that starts at the end of August and is over by the first week of May! So that’s >$1K/month. If several students pool resources, they can rent apartments in the neighborhood.</p>

[KellyLJ1]

<p>Not being that familiar with the campus, is all this new building going to turn the campus into a construction zone? More housing sounds like a very good thing, but it also sounds like a lot of bulldozers, etc are moving in.</p>

[bk4972b]

<p>@Raito23 - There are a few right by campus in fact. The Avalon, Berkshire apartments, McLean Gardens to name a few. </p>

<p>For example, this is the Berkshire apartments website which has monthly rates if you scroll down. Split a studio by 2 people and it’s much cheaper than AU housing. Split a one bedroom by 4 people and you’ve got a deal. <a href=“http://gables.com/find/apartment/411-the-berkshire-washington-dc?utm_campaign=Redirect&utm_medium=Redirect&utm_source=theberkshire[/url]”>http://gables.com/find/apartment/411-the-berkshire-washington-dc?utm_campaign=Redirect&utm_medium=Redirect&utm_source=theberkshire&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>@KellyLJ1 - I doubt it. The 2011 Campus Plan is a comprehensive plan that will be executed from 2011-2020. Many of the East Campus additions we won’t see for awhile. The Nebraska Hall addition will be done by 2016 but even then that’s a far way off. Plus, I don’t think AU will just leave a bunch of construction laying around. There’s a long way to go for this plan to be implemented.</p>