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| Off-campus housing to match
ASU deficit |
by
Jessica Hines
Associate Editor |
Editor’s note: This is the second story
in a two-part series investigating student housing. The first
of the series was published in the June 19 issue.
Off-campus
housing options are shrinking as an on-campus housing shortage
of nearly 1,000 spaces by 2012 pushes students off campus.
With demand rising, area apartments handle the increasing
student population with mixed responses.
Two companies are currently building apartments in Boone.
Pickering & Company has nearly completed construction
on the first phase of Mountaineer Village, an apartment complex
on 20 acres off Highway 421 east of Boone.
The complex will provide housing for 216 residents in August
with the completion of their first phase.
Property manager Matthew Rinker said the first phase will
be complete by Aug. 1.
Phase Two is scheduled to begin construction in August, and
will add an additional 120 three-bedroom units.
After the second phase is completed, the community will house
576 residents.
Rinker said he was surprised by the student response.
“We could have never anticipated how well the community
would do,” he said July 8. “We were completely full
by the second week of February.”
Rinker said Pickering & Company researched the area, and
their research “showed that the school was growing and
that it would be beneficial for our company to be in this
community.”
Apartments are also under construction by the Winkler Organization
on Highway 421 just west of downtown.
Other property management companies do not plan to acquire
new properties in the near future.
Appalachian South Apartments downsized from nearly 1,000 units
to 431 around Boone, and does not plan to expand to meet the
future housing demands, Renee Ward said.
“Been there, done that, don’t want to do it again,”
she said.
She said Appalachian South does not plan to make any changes,
and is concerned with maintaining a “good value”
for tenants.
Holton Mountain Rentals manages 550 units with approximately
1,100 tenants in Boone and surrounding areas.
Jeremy Watts of HMR said increased demands may affect prices,
but lease terms will not change.
“If demand goes up, price goes up,” he said.
Watts said the increased off-campus housing demand creates
chaos for HMR.
“It made it a lot more hectic with people trying to find
apartments, especially after they found the results of the
[housing] lottery,” he said.
“People are in more of a rush to find housing.”
Watts said he believes if the school continues to grow and
cut back on housing, off-campus housing should go even quicker.
“It’s really big business,” said David Graham,
development coordinator for the Town of Boone.
“We see lots of it. We have lots of people calling and
wanting information on where to locate.”
Graham said there is a 30-day review period for new construction
in Boone. Zoning restrictions limit where and how large apartment
complexes can be. |
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