University Housing has announced plans to enter a lease agreement with privately owned University Towers to expand first-year student housing options for the upcoming fall semester in order to accommodate the largest freshman class in NC State history. Upperclassmen could previously lease units at University Towers through campus housing, but this is the first time incoming first-years can also do the same.
University Towers, owned by Greystar Real Estate, is located on the corner of Hillsborough Street and Dan Allen Drive and currently used as an apartment building.
“The plan is to lease the entire building, which is just over 900 bed spaces,” said Katrina Pawvluk, director of administration and occupancy management. “About 680 of those spaces will be for incoming new students and just over 200 will be for returning students.”
One floor of single rooms and another floor of double rooms will be available as options for returning students in the room selection process for the 2023-24 academic year.
“The rooms are suite style, meaning every room space will have two rooms with a bathroom in between,” Pawvluk said. “The double rooms can house four people with two per room while the single rooms are spaces for two people living in separate rooms.”
Living at University Towers through campus housing will open up much needed room options for students on campus.
“Some of the suites will be for groups of four, so if a roommate group cannot find an apartment, they would be able to get a suite,” Pawvluk said. “Some of the rooms will be set up so the doubles can be selected individually. We’re trying to meet all kinds of needs for students.”
The single rooms at University Towers are larger than most single rooms currently available on campus, Pawvluk said.
“I like the layout of the rooms,” said Sneha Nandapradeepan, a third-year studying biology and applied clinical psychology. “Even though you don’t have a completely private space, the layout is a lot more conducive to interaction and having your own personal space. It would offer the same amount of privacy as a room in Wolf Village would.”
The rooms at University Towers will be available for the same price as any other single or double room in campus housing, Pawvluk said.
Donna McGalliard, assistant vice chancellor and executive director of student affairs, said unlike most other on-campus housing options, University Towers will not offer a Living and Learning Village.
“Living and Learning Villages are incredible partnerships either with other departments or colleges on campus,” McGalliard said. “They take a little more time to set up and develop.”
Although on Hillsborough Street, University Towers is somewhat removed from main campus, and some students have expressed concern about the location.
“The location is really inconvenient,” Nandapradeepan said. “The front of the building doesn’t have a blue light system, which could be really dangerous for students walking back from campus late at night.”
The decision to lease University Towers has been in the works for months as the University enacts its physical master plan.
“We always have an eye towards how we can ensure we have facilities that meet the needs of current students and new students,” McGalliard said. “The physical master plan is an incredibly comprehensive look at the University’s footprint.”
McGalliard said University Housing is exploring campus infrastructure right now to make decisions about where to put resources.
“We are super excited about the possibility of new housing, but that will come out of a larger plan that the University is wrapping up,” McGalliard said. “We want to make sure we have the right mix of buildings on campus, in locations that make sense for what our students’ experiences are.”
A diagram of the room layouts at University Towers and an FAQ for students will be available on the housing website during the room selection period.
