As a student of the University, I’ve witnessed the construction of numerous off-campus apartments that are marketed toward students and that brand themselves as luxury housing. They usually offer amenities such as fitness rooms and swimming pools, and some even offer lazy rivers and tanning beds, but the lease agreements come at unreasonably high prices. These so-called luxury student apartments are too exorbitant and not built for students’ needs.
According to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 59 percent of all college students suffer from malnutrition. However, developers of student apartments choose to ignore this fact. They charge extra for their services. For example, many of them offer numerous, unnecessary amenities. Many of them come furnished, even though it is not difficult to purchase simple, portable furniture from Amazon or Wal- Mart that suits every day use. The University already has a student recreation center that offers a variety of amenities and nullifies the need for the luxury apartments’ amenities. Students do not want to pay extra for places that offer amenities they would not use.
Maintenance of the amenities is another cost attached to these student apartments. Those apartments offer individual leases of a 4-bedroom apartment at a price of approximately $650 per month. A 2-bedroom unit costs approximately $750 per month. However, I could have paid $100 less to live in a similar-sized condominium near Nicholson and Lee Drive with one roommate. Even though they do not offer as many amenities, they are in a safe area and well-maintained by the property owner.
Because student apartments are able to rent out their small units at higher prices, the prices of apartments around the University soar. For instance, the price of a 2-bedroom apartment that was $980 per unit a month in 2009 went up $250 since the advent of luxury student apartments. I predict the price tag of the apartments around the University will continue to soar in the near future, and this is not beneficial for students.
I believe businesses that say they cater to college students should be well-suited to their needs, but when it comes to housing, that is not the case. Students struggle to make ends meet, and some of my former classmates have to work four days a week to pay for an apartment in a low-income area. It is upsetting to me that developers of student apartments are acting in contrary, continuing to offer amenities that the University already offers. It is important for the developers and managers to meet students’ demands in order to operate for the long run.
Kevin Yau is a 21-year-old sociology senior from New Orleans, Louisiana.