Columbus State breaks ground for new dorm (Atlanta, Savannah: 2015, apartment)

[DWColumbus]

Columbus State breaks ground for new dorm | Education | Columbus Ledger Enquirer

I think the rendering in the article looks great!

During the groundbreaking ceremony Monday to mark the official start of the $25 million student housing project at Columbus State University, Interim President Tom Hackett noted those living on the third floor will have an impressive view of the quad.
"Maybe we can charge more for that dorm," Hackett joked, and the standing-room-only crowd in the tent joined him in laughter.
The 121,000-square-foot building is scheduled to open by the fall 2016 semester. It will be constructed atop a hill bordered by Clearview Circle. The complex will be the closest student housing to main campus and will comprise:
• 539 beds for freshmen, plus a residence life professional and a faculty in residence apartment.
• Student suites with two double occupancy bedrooms and two bathrooms.
• Common areas for gaming and programming on each floor, along with study spaces in each wing.
• Two community kitchens, three community laundry rooms and one vending area.
• Space for CSU Residence Life Offices, which will move from the clubhouse at Courtyard I.
The CSU project is part of the $517 million contract the University System of Georgia awarded in competitive bidding to Corvias Campus Living of Cary, N.C., to develop new dorms containing 3,683 beds and scheduled to open in fall 2016, as well as manage existing dorms comprising another 6,195 beds for nine institutions during the next 65 years.
Under the agreement, the university continues to own the land while Corvias finances, constructs and maintains the building. Such a public-private partnership is possible because Georgia voters approved the referendum last November that allows private developers to be exempt from ad valorem taxes if they build housing or parking garages on state property and for USG students.
John Picerne, founder and CEO of Corvias Group, said 70 percent of the nation's campus housing is more than 25 years old and it would take approximately $100 billion to bring the facilities up to modern standards.
"Studies have shown," he said, "the longer a student stays on campus, the higher their GPA, the better their graduation rate and the better alumni they are."
This project at CSU will produce a living experience to help reach those goals, Picerne predicted.
"I promise you," he said, "we will not let you down. We will do you proud, and we will set the bar for how campus housing is done across the country for years to come."
CSU senior Rachel Green, president of the Student Government Association, has lived in campus housing all four years in Columbus.
"I made friends that will last a lifetime," she said. "… We are giving future students not only a future place to live but a way to connect to campus, build lifelong friendships, gain mentors and, most importantly, receive an education in our home away from home."
Lott + Barber of Savannah is the project's architect. Winter Construction of Atlanta is the contractor.
The yet-to-be-named dorm will give CSU a total of 1,491 beds for student housing by fall 2016. Its enrollment is about 8,200.
USG Chancellor Hank Huckaby said CSU is "poised to move to another level, a higher level. There's probably not another community in the state of Georgia in which the leadership supports their local college any better or nearly as well as happens here in Columbus."
But not everybody is celebrating the project at CSU. As of Monday afternoon, an online petition has gained 354 supporters who are upset that two parking lots will be closed during the construction and "will likely be reserved for new freshmen" when the dorm opens.
CSU student Christopher Resch wrote in the petition at www.change.org, "We can not afford to lose these spaces on a commuter campus."
John Lester, CSU’s assistant vice president for university relations, responded in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer, “We are aware of the petition. We have studied the parking issue extensively, and will continue to do so. We really think we will be OK with some extra patience, and expanded shuttles to and from rarely-used parking lots on campus.”

[Columbus1984]

Great project!! This will do wonders for campus!

[Columbuskidd92]

Dorms built like this could easily fit downtown.

[jlaud12]

Nice project

[amyers3]

I'm so glad that the law passed that allowed this to happen... great to see private companies and public colleges working together to better education. CSU's money can now be spent on building new classrooms and other capital projects (such as another parking deck!)

[Columbus1984]

Originally Posted by amyers3

I'm so glad that the law passed that allowed this to happen... great to see private companies and public colleges working together to better education. CSU's money can now be spent on building new classrooms and other capital projects (such as another parking deck!)

Exactly! Would to see CSU grow to 15,000 students.