New campus housing project moving forward

[yosef13]

The new housing will need to be built before the old housing is demolished. I'm assuming that's why the design shows all the new house in the middle and parking on the perimeter. I'm not sure how else it could be done. At least take the parking deck from the back corner of the site. It will be interesting. I really hope they get this right.

[The Rock]

While I understand there is more to App than football, the popularity of our football program can’t be denied.
How much interest will we lose from prospective students and student athletes when we sacrifice most of our game day atmosphere?
We are essentially cutting off mid-major donors by eliminating 75% of Stadium lot, which will become only the place for Super Donors who want to park close. If we are being honest, most of those people are the get there 30 minutes before kickoff and leave at halftime, depending on the score.
Is that an atmosphere students want to buy in to? Is walking from a parking deck across campus with babies and all their stuff going to attract families?
Our Yosef club donations and ticket sales fund a large part of our athlete’s scholarships. What happens when that is gone? Will that cost be added on to tuition?
I don’t see why dorms can’t be replaced/updated as they have been in the past to become more contemporary while not changing the whole look/feel of the campus.
Anyone who thinks the P3 developers give a damn about the project fitting in with the existing campus and blending in with the surroundings need only to look at The Standard apartment complex.
The developers are out to make as much money as quickly as possible and quality or atmosphere of the University we know and love isn’t even on their radar.
As was said earlier, P3s will be the death of public universities

[The Rock]

If this is the direction we are taking this university, why not just move the football stadium completely off campus? Convert the athletic facility into classrooms and dorms, and use the area for more buildings and just have an off campus stadium that has better areas for parking and tailgating?

[beav910]

I'm all for updating campus facilities but all this for 400 more beds seems nuts.

[Appftw]

This is going to make campus 1000x better, regardless of its effect on tailgating, which i think is being overstated anyways. Stadium lot and the west side of campus are currently the ugliest part of campus if we’re being honest. More green space and newer buildings will beautify it quite a bit. A sea of asphalt is not very visually appealing (especially on a campus that claims to be one of the most environmentally friendly). This will just diffuse tailgating throughout the rest of campus.

[yosef13]

Yeah, the doom and gloom might be a little exaggerated. At the end of the day the BOD has the final say on design, not the developer, right? Someone was making it seem like the P3 model hands over control to the developer. We simply have to grow and the state is not going to help. Just make it look good please!

[Nugget49]

These are critical decisions for your school. Like App, Charlotte faces the same challenges. We have a combination of aging (50 year old) housing that needed updating or replacing, and tremendous growth requiring additional beds. We looked at the P3 model and at this point have elected not to do it. Our Chancellor's position is that the buildings it makes sense for a P3 developer to build are not consistent with a University's need to combine a timeless look and a structure that will hold up and still be acceptable after decades of student use. (For examples of buildings that are not timeless, see the older buildings on Charlotte's campus while they last.) Charlotte's approach is to get the state to approve the issuance of bonds, then the University builds/runs/owns the housing and parking facilities. State money does not go into these buildings so they must pay for themselves, but in the long run we feel you get a better result. Good luck to you. Decisions made today probably cannot be unmade in our lifetimes.

[moonshine]

I'm all for updating campus facilities but all this for 400 more beds seems nuts.

Come on Beav, that's roughly $450k per bed...Peanuts!!!

I believe we can all agree those dorms on the west side need to come down. Not a fan of this particular concept but I will wait for final renderings before breaking out the pitchfork. With the state forcing App to get to 20k students, the university needs more on-campus housing as there is currently a housing shortage in Boone. Going the P3 route is the quickest way to get this done and Gardner and Coltrane will turn 100 years old if the admin waits on state funding. Even on a 40 year land lease (last I heard), I just don't see how this is financially feasible without substantially raising the cost on students. I think we all take pride in App being affordable (comparatively) and doing more with less, I just don't see how we can maintain the affordability with these projected costs.

[appstate77]

All the 1970s housing needs to be torn down and reconfigured. If I'm an 18 year old and visiting other schools, dorm life at App is a clear con in comparison.

I was in Justice mid 70s. It was built on the site of the original Justice from war time I believe. Justice does need to go. But it will be sad no longer being able to see my old window on first floor.

[Boone Goon]

This decision is too big for Evarts!

[ASUchipman]

I lived in Gardner and Bowie and my wife lived in Eggers. We wont have anything left when we come back. Both Bowie and Gardner were old when I was there over 25 years ago. I guess progress comes at the expense of memories.

[Apptiger]

Not a fan of the new design. Not sure what else they can do but thinking demolish the existing, one at a time and rebuild in the same areas. There was enough space over there to enlarge the building footprints some. I would think enough to get 400 more beds. Build a monolith style incorporating footprints from Bowie and Eggers. Do the same with Towers and the others toward Rivers street and maybe fit one new one in the back of that row or right behind Newland. Isn't there still some land on the other side of Justice/Coltrane or is that all gone now????

[T-Dog]

It's not really adding any new beds. It's replacing the beds that were there plus the hall that was demo'ed a few years ago.

Students don't want to stay on campus when the dorms are relics from the 70s/80s. The trend is more turn-key with individualized amenities, which the new dorms will be.

Boone has added over a couple thousand beds to the private market in recent years and more is coming. Say goodbye to Boone Trail Motel very soon. The market is healthy and students are paying higher dollar for turn key.

I'd say if you want to voice your thoughts, do so sooner than later. Phase One is coming up quickly. That's not inside info, previously it was said publicly that Spring 2019 was the start date.

[Saint3333]

We are losing good students to other programs due to the state of ours, this is a great upgrade.

Worrying about six saturdays versus overall competitive landscape for students is the equivalent of academics complaining about one Thursday game a year. Forest for the trees.

[Goapps15]

This will be a very important step for Appalachian and makes West Campus very visually appealing.

As T-Dog mentioned above, students want turn key and suite style rooms. Many schools have gone to the newer style dorms as a big selling point and had great success.

[1ASU78]

I don't mind the look and placement but why are we only adding 400 new beds. Housing has always been an issue and the university is growing as they want it to. Why not add an extra 1000-2000 beds. I think this could be done by just adding 2 more levels to each building. Not sure there are any more hotels to buy to turn into housing.

185 million to add 325 beds? So I guess the current trend is less beds per sq. ft.? Third party ownership and lease has nightmare written on it. All the presentations and contracts will have EVERYTHING covered until it's not. Then it's a " it's your responsibility" "no it's YOUR responsibility". Then someone else will be tearing these things down in 38 years. Granted I lived in Gardner and Bowie 40 years ago so no doubt upgrades needed. I'm just having a hard time accepting this is the smartest plan.

[appbanker]

The problem with most of our existing dorms is that they can’t be reconfigured and modernized to compete with newly constructed dorms. It would be nice if they could open the green space to face the stadium so it could be utilized for tailgating like the current Duck Pond field.

[/\PP ST/\TE GRAD 09]

To quote the man whose Christmas CD my mother still to this day plays in heavy rotation

"It's been a long. A long time coming. But I know a change gonna come"

This isn't the first change on campus since I graduated, and it won't be the last. Over time we all will adjust, but I enjoy seeing App State's campus bloom and catch up with the times.

It doesn't matter where you now have to tailgate, just being in Boone makes any day of the year special.

[NoLongerLurking]

Without quoting anyone, the bubble will eventually become vulnerable enough to burst..... and every kid shouldn't go to liberal arts schools.

[HighPointApp]

It’s not that the campus is gaining just 325 or 400 beds. Every single old dorm on that side of campus is being rebuilt.

I enjoyed Coltrane and Winkler my first two years. I would hope there’s improvements to dorms once my kids decide where they are going to school.