By Jamie Huish
Incoming freshman will have new choices for BYU housing beginning spring 2007. The university has three pilot programs in the works that will provide apartment-style housing for single students.
?BYU is trying to look at the needs and desires of our students,? said Carri Jenkins, university spokeswoman.
Alpine Village, an apartment-style complex, is scheduled for completion in fall of 2007. Located where the Reams turtle-shaped building is on Freedom Boulevard, BYU will be working with private property owner Melvin Walker.
?The property will look and feel just like an apartment complex,? Walker said.
This is different than on-campus housing, because the property will be privately owned. But unlike BYU approved housing, it will only be available to BYU students, and while there will be no resident assistants, the university will provide what Walker calls ?peer staff,? where individuals will be a resource to students for educational needs.
?We will work closely with the owners in providing quality housing and providing staff that is on-site,? Walker said.
Alpine Village will have a pool, recreation center, computer center and a mini-market for groceries.
?It will have more amenities than any new complexes built in the last three to five years,? Walker said.
Parking will be underground, and the city has already approved of parking to accommodate 80 percent of the tenants in the complex, so students won?t have to go out into the elements to get into their cars, Walker said.
The apartments will have four private bedrooms per unit, with space for 640 students of any age. Apartments will be for individual sale, but will be operated through a central management system.
Provo city gave preliminary approval in late 2004, and final approval will come late this year. Construction will start this spring, Walker said.
Wyview apartments will serve as a temporary source of single-student housing, which will be done in phases. Eventually, BYU plans to turn Wyview back into family housing, Jenkins said.
As a third possibility, last year BYU presented a proposal to the city council for a single housing complex south of campus. The city, however, raised issues about parking and traffic congestion.
?We are working through those issues, but we do not have a proposal that has received approval,? Jenkins said.
BYU recognizes the importance of such issues to residents and the city, and is working with neighborhoods groups to come up with solutions, Jenkins said.
?What we?re looking at is how students respond to the availability of apartment style housing,? she said.
According to Jenkins, students across the country are growing more inclined toward apartment-style living.