Two apartment-complex-style undergraduate dorms will be added to the University of Rhode Island Kingston Campus to improve student housing availability and de-triple dorms between 2027 and 2028.
The complexes will be for upperclassmen and returning students only on campus, according to Thomas Cooley, the assistant vice president of Housing, Residential Life and Student Development.
The apartments will be adjacent to each other, Cooley said. How they will look is yet to be determined as the construction is in the design process. The structuring of each apartment will be one year apart: one complex will be completed by 2027 and the other by 2028.
“This is in line with the newly created housing as part of President [Marc] Parlange’s 10 year strategic plan,” Cooley said.
The funding for building these apartments will not affect funding in other parts of the university, Cooley said. The project is fully funded and managed through housing services. Students pay the rent for the housing so the apartments are self-sustaining.
“Our traditional apartment style would be similar to Brookside [Hall] to meet similar design and style to have consistency,” Cooley said. “I sort of look for consistency across our apartments.”
The university knows housing is important for on-campus student success, Ellen Reynolds, the vice president of student affairs, said. They aim to create housing availability for every returning student and incoming student with these additional complexes.
“Housing is the number one priority for myself, Tom Cooley and the university at large,” Reynolds said. “We’re really excited to advance this project, moving forward in offering housing on campus.”
There is no hard data about the university turning away prospective students when it comes to housing, Reynolds said. However, since students might apply to universities that do not use triple dorms, it is a factor they must consider during the enrollment process.
Housing wants to stop first-year students from living in triples. Reynolds said. The goal is to offer additional new housing to de-triple dorms by 2027 and 2028.
Housing would only offer triples for those who want three to a room, Reynolds said. Students who choose to live in a triple dorm will get a 20% discount on housing compared to students who live in standard two-person rooms.
“They’ll enjoy the environment, [and] it’s slightly less expensive,” Reynolds said.
One of the new buildings will have 400 beds and the other will have 500 beds, similar to Brookside Hall, Cooley said. Each apartment will have two bathrooms with a common space and a kitchen.
“We’re not building for the sense of building – there’s a point to this,” Cooley said. “It supports our vision for a housing experience.”
It is too early to estimate the demand for living in these new complexes because the process is based on student preference, Cooley said.
“The short answer is that these complexes will be the most sought after,” Cooley said.
The apartment complexes will be built across Flagg Road. Parking will be minimized as housing is trying to maximize the layout of the buildings without spreading out on the south side of campus.
The construction of the apartment complexes will be completed within the 2027 and 2028 fall semesters.