Private developers have plans to bring a 10-story apartment complex and parking deck west of the N.C. State campus to aid the growing student population.
Tim Luckadoo, associate vice chancellor for student affairs, met 2 weeks ago with Capstone Development, a student housing firm based in Alabama, to discuss its plans.
According to Luckadoo, the firm has designed an apartment complex that may be named Stanhope Village, which will house approximately 900 students in two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments and include a parking deck for residents.
Luckadoo explained that while the developers already have plans for the complex, it has not been approved yet.
"City council has to approve it all and then they have to design the building, which could take 12 to 18 months, and then build it, which may also take 12 to 18 months," Luckadoo said.
That projection puts the complex's opening at least two to three years away, according to Luckadoo.
If the city council approves the plans, Luckadoo said Capstone Development would build the apartment complex and parking deck running lengthwise to the railroad tracks on the land behind the Dan Allen Parking Deck.
"The firm will lease all of the land from Val Valentine, and then build and manage the complex and parking deck themselves," Luckadoo said.
To build the parking deck however, Luckadoo said the developers plan on knocking down several homes in that area.
"I believe these houses are pretty old and boarded up," Luckadoo said. "There is a neighborhood in that area though, and I suspect the people living there are going to be very concerned with what's happening."
Luckadoo has no doubt as to why Capstone Development is choosing to build student housing facilities near the University.
"I think a lot of developers are looking at N.C. State as a growing university," Luckadoo said. "Enrollment is expected to grow to 40,000 by 2017, so it's an attractive market opposed to other schools that aren't growing as fast as we are."
While Luckadoo does see why the developers want to build close to the University, he finds it ironic that they are building a 10-story apartment complex.
"It is unusual in the college market to build a high-rise building these days," Luckadoo said. "We have plans to knock down Lee and Sullivan. Oklahoma State took down some high-rises a few years ago, and UNC-Charlotte is thinking about taking down their high-rises."
Regardless of the fact that it is a high-rise, Alyson Anderson, a junior in animal science, feels this apartment complex will be a great opportunity for incoming students in years to come.
"It'll definitely give students who want to live off-campus more options, since most apartment complexes are pretty far away from the main campus," Anderson said.
Anderson also said she felt these facilities would be convenient for students who want to live off campus because of the complex's proximity to most classes and "great parking."
Casey Yarbrough, a junior in psychology, also agreed the facility would be great for its convenient parking.
"I wish this was here when I was a freshman," Yarbrough said. "Then I wouldn't have had to walk all the way out to the varsity lot to get my car."
Although the plans for this new apartment complex may look attractive to students, Luckadoo feels it will not compete with University Housing.
"I see a real difference between on- and off-campus housing with the staffing on campus and the connections that the on-campus housing has with all the other campus departments," Luckadoo said. "There is a reason to live on campus, and you can't get those same benefits living off campus."
