Where there was once a drab parking lot at the corner of Uintah Street and Nevada Avenue, there was then a giant hole accompanied by a massive mound of dirt. Now, seemingly out of nowhere, there are large, wooden skeletons of what will soon become new upperclassmen housing.
Many students are excited with the state-of-the art development’s rapid evolution. Even neighbors to the busy construction can’t help but be impressed. “They seem to be making good progress,” said Warren Bunnell of 229 Uintah St., nicknamed The Shire. “And besides the noise and the four-foot trench around our house, it’s not all that bad.”
The new housing, currently referred to as the East Campus Residential Development, will include the Brownstone apartment complex—six apartment buildings—two additional small houses, and a community center. Living in one of the 32 small house beds will cost the same as living in Arthur or Jackson. The 122 apartment beds will be priced the same as a single room in the Western Ridge Apartments.
Roofing is now in progress followed soon by window installation. John Lauer, Associate Vice President for Student Life, said that construction is slated to conclude on July 1, 2017, as initially promised. The project will end up costing the college about $18 million. Lauer also took the time to laud the future housing.
“The community center will be wonderful, the court yard will be a place of gathering and interaction. The connection between the indoor and outdoor spaces will be great,” said Lauer. “The entire project is exciting!”
More exciting features, according to Lauer, include geothermal heating and cooling systems, which will help the development run very efficiently. Lauer did, however, say that the total carbon footprint will ultimately be decided by the residents’ behaviors.
The parking spots sacrificed for the development will not be fully recovered, but Lauer said, “the previous parking lot was typically less than 40 percent occupied. We expect the new parking lot will be close to 100 percent occupied, so the use of the land. . . will be an improvement.” Lauer cited a “parking study” conducted for the Master Plan for these numbers.
With this new development, on-campus housing will accommodate 82 percent of the student body. This will make it more difficult for juniors to successfully apply to live off campus. “I expect very few students to be given special consideration for off-campus approval before meeting the three-year requirement moving forward,” said Lauer.
Some students are not thrilled with the prospect of living on campus for three years.
“It’s kind of annoying because dorm life is getting really old,” said rising junior Nikki Blair. “And it would be super nice to have the option for off-campus housing, especially because the apartments on the west side of campus are already super competitive.
Fellow rising junior Sophia Skelly shared that sentiment, and added, “It’s a bummer because [living on campus] is likely to be more expensive (than living off campus).”
Skelly is partially correct. Living in a small house costs $3,451-3,745 a semester, and an apartment, $4,390-4,815 a semester, according to CC’s website. (Rates vary depending on the number of roommates or if living in a studio apartment.) Meanwhile, living in any of Weber Street Rentals’ properties (including the Pillar House) costs $3,650-3,750 over five months, a period of time just longer than a semester at CC. Weber Street Rentals, however, is one of the pricier real estate companies in town. Highest Point Real Estate and Property Management charges as little as $395 a month (without utilities), or $1,975 over 5 months.
So while on-campus small houses may have a competitive price tag, apartment dwellers pay considerably more than their off-campus compadres.
Regardless, construction carries on. Expect the ambience of construction to serenade the streets of Uintah, Weber, and Nevada until July.