2008 Woodie Awards
Private dorms on the rise
Rachel Zarrell
Issue date: 7/2/08 Section: News
When attending college in a city school, there are only so many housing options for students. But recently, instead of having to choose between university-owned residence halls or leased apartments, students can experience some of both.
Private dorms, which combin suite-style living similar to West Village, and the independence of signing a lease, have begun cropping up around the country. Built near colleges by development companies, these residencies are for-profit and operate separate from the university.
"A private dorm is built with private equity. It's purposefully built for student housing," said John Cappellano, senior vice president for development and construction for the Lincoln Property Co, a company that builds private dorms. "It's the wave of the future."
The Lincoln Property Co., in addition to the Phoenix Property Co., both based in Dallas, teamed up in 2006 to begin planning Boston's first private dorm, called the GrandMarc, next to Northeastern on St. Botolph Street. It's slated to be finished in fall 2011.
The Phoenix Property Co. will likely lease blocks of rooms directly to nearby universities, which will in turn lease to interested students. This is the first set up of its kind for the company, which usually leases rooms directly to students.
School officials declined to comment on whether Northeastern would be among those schools, and have not yet publicly expressed interest in the endeavor.
Similar private residence halls have been built by Phoenix Property Co. in Minneapolis, Minn.; Riverside, Calif.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Charlotte, N.C.
Private residence halls are often located in highly congested areas near universities to help alleviate the stress on the real estate market. Cappellano said prices will be competitive.
"I think one of the positive aspects is obviously there's a housing crunch in the city of Boston," said Matt Soleyn, Resident Student Association vice president for housing services. "Housing prices are very high and so by adding more supply of housing you're obviously going to meet that demand."
Private dorms, which combin suite-style living similar to West Village, and the independence of signing a lease, have begun cropping up around the country. Built near colleges by development companies, these residencies are for-profit and operate separate from the university.
"A private dorm is built with private equity. It's purposefully built for student housing," said John Cappellano, senior vice president for development and construction for the Lincoln Property Co, a company that builds private dorms. "It's the wave of the future."
The Lincoln Property Co., in addition to the Phoenix Property Co., both based in Dallas, teamed up in 2006 to begin planning Boston's first private dorm, called the GrandMarc, next to Northeastern on St. Botolph Street. It's slated to be finished in fall 2011.
The Phoenix Property Co. will likely lease blocks of rooms directly to nearby universities, which will in turn lease to interested students. This is the first set up of its kind for the company, which usually leases rooms directly to students.
School officials declined to comment on whether Northeastern would be among those schools, and have not yet publicly expressed interest in the endeavor.
Similar private residence halls have been built by Phoenix Property Co. in Minneapolis, Minn.; Riverside, Calif.; Fort Worth, Texas; and Charlotte, N.C.
Private residence halls are often located in highly congested areas near universities to help alleviate the stress on the real estate market. Cappellano said prices will be competitive.
"I think one of the positive aspects is obviously there's a housing crunch in the city of Boston," said Matt Soleyn, Resident Student Association vice president for housing services. "Housing prices are very high and so by adding more supply of housing you're obviously going to meet that demand."
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