Teased with images of sparkling swimming pools and laughing swimsuit-clad scholars, students have begun taking note of alternative housing options appearing around campus.
Communities like The Cottages, Aspen Heights and the under-construction Woodlands are building a reputation for amenities not commonly offered by traditional apartments, houses or dorms.
But these communities require more land than most complexes and are located outside of comfortable walking distance from the University.
The popularity of single-family freestanding houses in Baton Rouge leaves a gap for more townhomes, condos and cottage-style complexes, according to the FUTUREBR plan by the City-Parish Planning Commission. Trends show the city is looking toward more compact single-family homes to rent or own. Read the Out of Print news blog to see why one Reveille staffer chose a housing community.
Ryan Holcomb, planning project coordinator for the City-Parish Planning Commission, said The Cottages was approved as a Planned Unit Development before construction, which is held to a higher design standard and allowed a greater amount of flexibility to develop amenities that wouldn’t be permitted under traditional zoning categories.
“The PUD ordinance in the unified development code requires 18 percent open space,” Holcomb said. “It gives people more options to develop a different variety of housing for students that offer different amenities than would normally be routes.”
Kelli Barmore, political science freshman, said she likes living in her one-bedroom cottage and the amenities that come with the community.
“Obviously there’s traffic and Highland [Road] can be horrible to get down, but it’s still a great place to live,” Barmore said. “It’s quiet, I’m never interrupted and any maintenance problem I might have is usually fixed that one.”
Set to open in August 2012, the Woodlands is a new student-targeted community by Dovetail Companies. Rental features will be organized with flat-style housing on the first floor of each unit and two separate two-story townhomes above.
The space for residencies in the Woodlands will range from about 1,150 square feet to 1,800 square feet.
Mike Swope, director of Campus Marketing for Dovetail Companies, said Dovetail has had success in other SEC markets, and the recent enrollment increase at LSU will encourage a demand for their service.
Swope said construction on the Woodlands should be done by mid to late July, with the finishing touches completed by next August.
“This is the earliest we’ve ever started a project in terms of construction, and we’ve never delivered late before,” Swope said. “The lease-up is hard to predict. We would like to stay on pace. Our competitors were full before this past summer session started, and we would also like to be full at that time next apartment.”
Prices for Northgate Apartments range from $550 to $750 monthly for different styles of living quarters.
Espes said business has dropped a little since the housing communities opened, but the apartments are currently about 93 percent full.
Meghan Mack, communication disorders freshman, said she’s happy with her apartment in Burbank Commons.
“It might not be as nice as The Cottages, but I like being pretty close to campus,” Mack said. “It came furnished and the balcony is