UI officials: public-private partnership preferred for new apartments

IOWA CITY - University of Iowa officials prefer a partnership with a private entity in constructing new apartment housing for students, according to information to be discussed with state regents next week.

Under such an agreement, the UI would lease university-owned land to a private company that would plan, construct and manage a student apartment complex. That option would be faster and cheaper than the UI building a new apartment complex, Von Stange, director of university housing, said. Many national companies have “pre-designed” apartment buildings, meaning a faster process and less in architectural and planning costs, Stange said.

“It's less expensive and they can be more aggressive with the timeline,” he said.

UI officials will discuss future plans for apartment student housing with the state Board of Regents next week at a meeting in Ames.

Along with the public-private partnership option or having the university build new apartments, which they estimated would take at least three years, UI officials considered a third option of discontinuing apartment housing for students.

While demand for university apartments has waned slightly, officials determined there is still a need among graduate students, students with families and international students, who often lease a university apartment sight-unseen because they are overseas and it's easier for them to go through the university, Stange said.

“There's still clearly a need out there,” he said.

UI officials issued a request for proposals and heard from four companies regarding the apartment plan. Officials met with one company recently and will update the regents about that, Stange said.

The goal would be to start work in the summer of 2012, with new apartments opening in fall 2013, he said.

The existing Hawkeye Court apartment complex, west of Mormon Trek Boulevard and Hawkeye Park Road, ultimately would be replaced with new units, and Hawkeye Drive apartments also would be replaced, though on a longer time frame, Stange said.

The university already plans to demolish part of Hawkeye Court damaged in the 2008 flood. The eventual plan is to replace the entire complex, which now has about 430 units, on land out of the flood plain.

Also at next week's meeting, the regents will consider increases to room and board rates at the UI, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa, ranging from 3 percent to 5 percent for double-occupancy rooms with full board for 2011-12.

The UI Department of Residence plans a 5 percent increase, or $380, for $8,042 in all. ISU suggests a 3 percent increase of $224 to $7,621. At UNI, a 4.3 percent increase of $306 would make the total $7,426. The residence systems are self-supporting operations and do not receive state funds.