Stuck on campus, in a dorm, for another year. When construction on the residential commons wraps in fall 2014, all incoming students will be required to live on campus through their sophomore year.
“So the residential commons is actually a transformation of our entire residential campus,” said Jeffrey Grim, Assistant Director of Residence Life for Academic Initiatives.
Five new buildings located at the southeast corner of campus will include classrooms and apartment style living for faculty and staff who will live and eat with the students. Some classes will take place in the dorms too.
Sophomores and freshmen will live intermixed in the dorms, allowing a sort of mentor system. A new dining hall and eateries will be added, making this corner of campus practically its own separate campus, located just across from CVS and the bookstore for easy errands.
“I think it will be a positive thing for SMU, just to keep the close knit community together,” said Sabrina Janski, a freshman living in Virginia-Snider Hall.
Currently all freshman are required to live on campus, leaving little room for sophomores who choose to live in the dorms. SMU has structured its new residence halls after other Universities like Vanderbilt and USC that also require their students to live on campus beyond freshman year.
Aside from the community aspect of the dorms, according to Grim retention rates are higher among students who live on campus. Attempting to boost SMU’s retention rate is crucial.
“We also know that some fall through the cracks, so we’re really trying to create a common experience, for all of our students coming into campus.”
For the surrounding community, however, this comes as a concern. Landlords and real estate agents fear the new rule will stifle demand for both selling and renting houses and apartments.
“Rent values, up until this point, have been extremely strong,” said Rogers Healy of Rogers Healy and Associates Realty. “Rental rates will probably go down a little bit, and you know multi family values will probably get affected as well.”
SMU students make up 15 percent of Rogers Healy’s business. Of the SMU student market, 40 percent actually own or invest in a property, not just rent.
“It’ll be interesting to see how our competitors react,” Grim said.
Healy admits, “That’s gonna be a dagger to our business.”
The new dorms will be mostly one and two bedrooms with common bathrooms. Grim claims they will be as nice as the apartments in this area. Faculty and staff housing will be located within the building and will be apartment style.
“Rental rates will probably go down a little bit, and ya know multi family values will probably get affected as well,” Healy said.
Students housing rates for the new dorms will be the same as other current dorm rates.
