Life at The Village

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The Village at South Campus is one of the newest housing properties under BYU contract and students are breaking it right in.

In order to find a way to live with his best friends at one of Provo’s newest apartment complexes, BYU student Chris Chineme took desperate measures.

The rooms were all contracted in the apartment his friends had signed for, leaving no place for him. In an effort to be able to move into the apartment, Chimine went to the unit, walked right through the door without knocking and told the resident on the couch to come with him to the apartment office. He then proceeded to take over that resident’s contract and moved in with his friends that day.

As Chineme looked for housing in Provo he was hopeful to find a fun and social place to live with friends. He had heard all about The Village and certainly wanted to get in on the new and state-of-the-art housing.

Many current residents of The Village had a similar desire to get a private room in one of the several 1,056 square foot, four bedroom, two bath units. The Village, located at 600 North and 600 East, was constructed over three years beginning in 2010 and completed in 2012. The massive property is adorned with a popular, local restaurant called ‘The Awful Waffle’, an indoor pool and hot tub, study rooms, a fitness center, a grocery market and game rooms.

Brandon Eccles, 26, majoring in exercise science, enjoys that the onsite restaurant and market make it easy for him to get food and treats without having to leave the property.

“The food at The Awful Waffle is really good, it’s a little expensive though,” Eccles said. “I usually get the pizza or a crepe.”

Since the property’s opening in the fall of this year, there have been a few hiccups having to do with parking and internet, but residents say they enjoy the social atmosphere and luxury style living.

BYU student and current resident at The Village, Skyler Gibbs, enjoys the various social activities that are held on the property.

“I really like the people and the social atmosphere, they do something fun here every week” Gibbs said. “There’s a lot of down-to-earth, cool people here.”

Parking in Provo is always tight, but especially at The Village with it’s 944 residents. One of the mangers at the complex, Lance Freeman, explained that The Village has about five acres, collectively, of parking and that’s still not enough.

“There are 944 residents here and we currently have 634 parking spaces because that’s what is required by Provo City,” Freeman said. “It’s not enough, it’s never enough for everybody, but we do have more parking for a complex than anybody else.”

Freeman explained that the trash and recycling service at The Village are provided through a company called WSI and they collect the trash from 6 to 8 p.m.

Current resident, Alexis Weekes, likes that the complex has trash services so residents don’t have to lug their trash down flights of stairs or the elevator. Instead, they simply place it outside the front door for services to take it away.

“I really like that we don’t have to take out our own trash, I can’t imagine trying to get a trash bag down all those stairs or stinking up the elevator,” Weekes said. “The hallways kind of stink sometimes, but it’s worth it.”

The management team at The Village hopes to provide a living atmosphere that is unlike any other around BYU campus.

“When the owners came up with the idea for this community they wanted to set a standard of what BYU off-campus housing should be,” Freeman said. “They wanted it to basically be a 5-star resort for student living.”

All of the doors at The Village are automatically locked after 8 p.m. until 8 a.m. everyday. After 8 p.m. residents have to have their key to get around and let visitors into the buildings.

“It’s a safety and security precaution to keep other people out,” Freeman said.

The Village is a few blocks away from BYU campus and upon the opening just before the school semester, the property was almost at full occupancy. According to the property website, The Village currently has 13 female units available and only six male units available.

“When I got here the office said the rooms were full in the apartment where my friends live, so I took it upon myself to make some spots available in the apartment,” Chineme said. “I just told him to put his stuff down and to come to the office with me to switch our contracts around. I’m glad we got it figured out, I really wanted to live here.”

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