The new kid on campus

Portland State’s enrollment is growing: as of October 2011, total enrollment had increased by 50 percent in 10 years. And with it, so has the demand for both on- and off-campus housing. As a predominantly commuter campus, approximately 6 percent of all enrolled students actually live on the college campus. According to statistics released by University Housing and Residence Life, as of fall 2011, on-campus housing had a total of 2,047 housing beds at an occupancy of 93 percent. This means that more than 27,000 PSU students live off-campus. And some of those students would like to change that.

Stephanie Hochhaus, a freshman who plans on double majoring in psychology and sociology, wants to move to the dorms from her current apartment in Hillsboro. “I plan on moving into the dorms next year because it is easier and less stressful to live on-campus,” she said. Hochhaus is currently paying $511 per month for a shared two-bedroom condo.

But will there be enough space for every student wanting to live on-campus? Blumel Hall’s 189 one-bedroom units will be taken out of the equation for the 2012–13 academic year as it undergoes significant renovation. This significantly decreases the total number of housing beds available. But to combat the loss of an entire residence hall, there’s a new kid on campus: University Pointe.

A 16-story high rise on the south side of campus, the privately owned and privately managed University Pointe student-housing complex will add more than 975 housing beds. Currently under construction, the new housing complex will be completed this summer and ready for move-in at the beginning of fall term.

The new housing project is the collaborative effort of PSU and American Campus Communities, a private company which contracts with universities to design and build housing communities for college students. ACC has a total of 50 housing projects across the U.S., from Texas Tech University to University of Cincinnati Physicians.

Because it is a private contractor, the ACC is paying for the entirety of the new building, while PSU owns the lot on which it is being constructed. Revenue from tenant rent would go only to ACC. Christina Shafer, assistant director at PSU’s housing office, outlined the role University Pointe plays in relation to PSU and the students. “I am not aware of any money exchange between ACC and PSU,” she said. “So no money goes to PSU if [students] live in University Pointe and vice-versa.”

University Pointe is the first new housing building to be erected since the Broadway opened in 2004. Of the 10 other student residence buildings on campus, six were built before 1932 and one per year was built in 1967, 1988, 2003 and 2004. Both the Broadway and Stephen Epler Hall are LEED certified and have more modern facilities than its counterparts. University Pointe will also have much more modern facilities compared to other on-campus housing options. Highlights of the building include a fitness center, social lounge, study center and a MAX stop in front of the building.

The new building offers four different floor plan options for students, ranging from single studio apartments, two-bedroom/two-bathroom units, and even four-bedroom living spaces. According to the University Pointe website, the furnished two-bedroom, two-bathroom units cost $639 per month per person. In comparison, the proposed PSU 2012–13 housing rates list a furnished double in the Broadway building for $711 per month while a similar room in Ondine costs $551 per month.

According to the proposed PSU 2012–13 costs and rate sheet, there has been an estimated 5 percent increase in overall costs to student tenants. “Most costs have been directly related to the increased cost of living,” Shafer said. Costs of living usually consist of utilities such as electricity, gas, water and sewer.

University Housing and Residence Life conducts research in an effort to try to make housing as cheap as possible for PSU students. According to Shafer, UHRL looks at cost comparisons between the housing options available on campus to the same kinds of housing in the downtown area. “We use these market comparisons in the downtown area as a guide when making decisions on our housing rates,” Shafer said.

Sociology sophomore Jacob Frehling grew up in Portland and is part of the majority of students who live off-campus. And he prefers it. “Who would live on campus in the city where they grew up?” he said. Frehling enjoys the freedom and lack of restraint of living off-campus in terms of campus housing policies and rules. “[PSU] needs to become more of a destination school to attract more students to living on campus,” Frehling said.

University Pointe is currently accepting applications for the 2012–13 year. PSU Housing and Residence Life is also currently accepting contracts for new students entering PSU in the fall.