Frederiksen Court Expansion

Table of ContentsCover ................................................................ 1Contents........................................................... 2Press Release ................................................. 3Map .................................................................. 4-5Common Questions ........................................ 6-7Quick Facts...................................................... 8

AMES, Iowa—On Oct. 25, the Iowa Board of Regents approved a plan for Iowa State University’s Department of Residence to expand the Frederiksen Court apartment community. The expansion will add six new apartment buildings, creating an additional 720 housing spaces for ISU students. Construction is set to begin in November with two buildings slated to be ready for student occupancy by the beginning of the fall 2013 semester.

“Over the past two years, demand for on-campus housing has exceeded permanent housing spaces resulting in students living in interim housing, typically den spaces. We view this demand as the highest compliment as we do not require students to live on campus,” said Department of Residence Director Pete Englin.

Phase one of construction will see the completion of two buildings on the north side of Frederiksen Court, adding 240 housing spaces for the fall 2013 semester. The remaining four buildings, located on the south side of the community, will be available in spring 2014 bringing an additional 480 beds. The Frederiksen Court expansion project will take campus occupancy from its current 10,179 to 10,899 permanent spaces.

“Student leaders communicated that our focus on student success and offering student-friendly contracts makes our program attractive,” said Englin. “They demanded we explore how to accommodate every returning and new student desiring on-campus housing in permanent spaces, freeing up gathering spaces for all residents.”

In addition to academically-friendly contracts, students living on campus receive academic, emotional, and social support from residence life staff that results in higher GPAs, a greater likelihood of graduating from ISU, a deeper involvement in campus life, and more leadership opportunities. Expanding Frederiksen Court gives more ISU students the opportunity to have an on-campus experience and is a fi nancially viable way to add more student housing.

“We chose to expand Frederiksen Court given the tremendous interest from returning on-campus residents year after year to live there,” Englin said. “Additionally, we won’t have to raise anyone’s rates as construction and operating costs will be covered using revenue from the residents occupying the new apartments at current rates. The construction schedule for these apartments allows us to respond quickly so we can best serve everyone who wants to live on campus.”

The buildings will be similar to the current Frederiksen Court buildings. Each apartment will house four students and will have four bedrooms, a bathroom, living room and kitchen. Assignments to the two buildings coming online in fall 2013 will follow the Department of Residence’s traditional recontracting process. Assignments to the remaining buildings will be determined based on when those buildings will be available for occupancy. The new buildings will be billed at the same rate as the current buildings.

The six new buildings do displace some parking. The construction plan includes new parking lots to maintain the current rate of parking spaces for Frederiksen Court residents.

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Iowa Board of Regents Approves ISU’s Frederiksen Court ExpansionOct. 31, 2012

Press Release

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Updated Oct. 31, 2012

What is the approved plan for expansion?

At the Iowa Board of Regents meeting on Oct. 25, Iowa State University’s Department of Residence gained approval to add six apartment buildings to the existing Frederiksen Court community to meet the growing demand for on-campus housing. These buildings will accommodate 720 additional residents.

Construction will likely begin during the latter half of November 2012 in the Frederiksen Court community. Two buildings (240 spaces) are scheduled to be open for the fall 2013 semester with the remaining four buildings (480 spaces) becoming available for the spring 2014 semester.

Where will the buildings be located?

Buildings 35 and 36 will be added to the north side of the community in the 30s cluster. These two buildings will open in fall 2013. Building 24 will be added to the 20s cluster. Buildings 81, 82, and 83 will make up a new 80s cluster that will be located south of the current 60s and 70s clusters.

What will the apartments be like, when can students start contracting to live in them and how much will it cost to live there?

The buildings will be similar to the current Frederiksen Court buildings. Each apartment will house four students and will have four bedrooms, a bathroom, living room and kitchen. Assignments to the two buildings coming online in fall 2013 will follow the Department of Residence’s traditional recontracting process. Assignments to the remaining buildings will be determined based on when those buildings will be available for occupancy. The new buildings will be billed at the same rate as the current buildings.

Will the expansion affect anything on campus, particularly parking?

Under the proposal, some parking lots would be displaced for additional buildings. However, a new

parking lot will be added to the southwest portion of the community and an additional parking lot will be added across Stange Road before any lots will be displaced due to construction of new buildings.

Residents and Hawthorn patrons will have similar access to parking. The Department of Residence will replace and add parking to the Frederiksen Court area at the original ratio of .75 parking spaces per resident.

CyRide routes will not be affected by the construction. Traffi c on roads adjacent to the Frederiksen Court community also will not be affected.

How will the Frederiksen Court expansion be paid for?

Estimated construction cost is $31,200,000. Due to bond issuance costs of roughly 11%, the total amount to be bonded would be close to $35 million. The Department of Residence will be able to “cash fl ow” the Frederiksen Court expansion (including ongoing operations) under all of several planning scenarios.

Why is the DOR expanding Frederiksen Court?

Between 2005 and 2011, on-campus occupancy growth (28.4%) outpaced growth in enrollment (16.1%) by over 10%. Students are choosing to live on campus.

In the fall of 2011, for the fi rst time in over a decade, the demand from new and returning students for on-campus housing exceeded the availability of permanent housing spaces, resulting in students being placed in house dens. Again in fall 2012, students were placed in dens.

Students have also voiced concerns over fl exibility under the current structure. Because the DOR is operating at over 100% capacity, students have little opportunity to change their room assignment.

Future projections indicate the Department of Residence has a potential demand exceeding over 100% capacity for the next several years. Enrollment forecasts make meeting student leaders’ expectations likely unachievable without additional permanent spaces.

Common Questions

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Why Build More Apartments?

Despite increased competition from off-campus apartments, the Department of Residence continues to enjoy increased demand due to its demonstrated ability to add value to the student experience at Iowa State, something off-campus apartments cannot replicate.

Students living on campus receive academic, emotional, and social support from residence life staff that results in the following advantages:

- Higher GPAs- A greater likelihood of graduating from ISU- A greater likelihood of returning to ISU after their freshman year- An increased course load- Higher participation in learning communities- Higher participation in MAP-Works- Higher opinion of ISU- More involved in campus life- Lower incidence of binge drinking- Opportunity to seize leadership opportunities- The ability to fi nd an academic and social balance

What other housing options were considered?

The Department of Residence considered the following:

- On-campus residence hall construction- Repurposing the MU Hotel as student housing- Leasing off-campus apartments/properties/hotels- Purchase off-campus apartments/properties- Contract for construction and operation of off-campus apartments (public-private partnership)- Expand Greek community opportunities

Why is the DOR expanding an apartment community instead of building a new residence hall?

Other options were considered to meet demand, but adding spaces in Frederiksen Court was identifi ed as the best option for three reasons:

- Returning students prefer living in on-campus apartments. - Adding spaces in Frederiksen Court is the most cost-effi cient method for additional housing.

- Placing more returning students in Frederiksen Court will create additional space for new freshmen in traditional residence halls.

What will the Department of Residence do if enrollment declines?

Should a drop in enrollment result in less than 95% occupancy of permanent space, there are a number of options that have been identifi ed to address this dynamic. While further discussion and evaluation of potential impacts would need to take place, below are fi ve examples of options that could be considered.

- Up to 500 super singles could be offered system wide- 100 design triples could be reduced to doubles- Wallace and/or Wilson could be reduced to single rooms- Various residence halls could be retired and/or removed- Increased recruitment/outreach to graduate students

Will staff be added to accommodate the 720 additional residents?

Human resource plans include the addition of one full-time (live-in) hall director, one additional clerical staff to provide additional administrative support, fi ve community advisers, and two custodians.

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Department of Residence

Location .............................................................. Iowa State University, Ames, IowaTotal Enrollment ................................................. 31,040Residence Halls................................................. 18Apartment Communities .................................. 2Permanent Bed Spaces ................................... 10,179Projected Bed Spaces with Expansion ......... 10,899

Frederiksen Court Expansion Project

Location .............................................................. Frederiksen Court Apartment CommunityEstimated Cost ................................................... $31.2M, $35M bondedBuildings Added ................................................ 6Bed Spaces Added ........................................... 720Construction Timeline....................................... Nov. 2012 to Spring 2014Buildings Online ................................................ Fall 2013 (2 buildings), Spring 2014 (4 buildings)Parking ................................................................ Ratio of .75 per bed maintained

Contact InformationPlease contact Cameron if you’d like to set up interviews with the Department of Residence about the Frederiksen Court expansion project.Cameron Aisenbrey1211 Friley Hall515-294-6243camerona@iastate.edu

Sources Available for Interview:

Pete Englin, DirectorRoger Gradin, Associate Director for FacilitiesMary Beth Golemo, Frederiksen Court Apartments Manager

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Quick Facts