JESSICA COLON
Special To The Leader
Burgio & Campofelice Inc. is currently undergoing the task of constructing new university village townhouses located on campus. Housing in “Townhouse Village” will be offered in the Fall of 2014 to provide students with an off campus lifestyle while still living on campus.
Located by parking lot 9C and the baseball and softball fields, the new independent living option includes many benefits for students. Each townhouse accommodates four students providing them with their own bedroom, two full bathrooms and full-size beds.
A kitchen unit, furnished living room and laundry facilities are a few of the conveniences provided for each townhouse. Students can also choose how many floors they prefer their townhouse to have — whether it is one, two or three levels.
According to Fredonia.edu, the townhouses are expected to cost $4500 a semester per tenant. All students who live on and off campus are encouraged to apply. Those who are interested in the townhouses must have earned a minimum of 60 credit hours before the fall semester. Selection materials are available in Gregory Hall beginning Nov. 4 and are due on Nov. 15. This process requires a $200 deposit and students will know their housing placements on Nov. 22.
Because the townhouses will be located further away from campus, there will be a bus stop for the shuttle to drive students to and from campus.
“I can see why someone would want to live in the townhouses instead of dorms or off-campus. There are several benefits to the new living arrangement,” said sophomore public relations major Lauren Szymczak. She believes that the new townhouses will be a success because many students, especially juniors and seniors, prefer to live off-campus after a few years of living on campus.
Markus Kessler, the director of facilities planning, reflected on the living options for students and has concluded that the University needed another alternative of living arrangements to accommodate all students.
“I think the townhouses will be beneficial to students because it’s a different type of lifestyle, very similar to off- campus living,” said Kessler. The only difference between the townhouses and living off- campus is that you’re actually on campus.
The design team had a vision in mind to make the townhouses similar to a community which is why they chose to add a balcony, front porch area and closer units.
“One of the things we wanted to make sure of was that there was a community feel to the complex,” said Kessler. “Living on campus isn’t for everyone so I think most students want the off-campus experience and in order to get those types of experiences you have to provide different types of living quarters on the campus.”
The campus already has many different styles of living arrangements, so, adding the townhouses adds more variety for students to choose from.
Many other college campuses provide townhouse for their students and have been very successful.
“Our townhouses are going to be different because they will be more condensed and present a modern village feel,” said Kessler.
Vice President of Student Affairs David Herman shares his excitement about the new townhouses.
“We’re really excited about having another housing option for students because, in the past, anybody who wants to live in an apartment or a townhouse has had to move off-campus, and we think there’s a lot of advantage to having the convenience of that on campus,” said Herman.
One reason why the townhouses require students to have a minimum of 60 credits before the Fall semester is so that more upperclassmen will live on campus.
“We want to see juniors and seniors stay on campus and be much more part of the campus culture,” said Herman.
With all the great benefits of the townhouses, Herman believes and hopes that they will be very popular.