Student Housing: New student housing complex sets the standard
The College Suites at Plattsburgh should earn high grades for local student housing.
Christina Vanier is property manager for the Troy-based United Group of Companies. The enormous complex is expected to be completely finished by November, she said. There will be 114 suites capable of housing 397 students in all. There will be 87 four-bedroom units and 27 two-bedroom ones.
“We expect to be full by next fall and have a waiting list,” Vanier said. There is 24-hour security, she said, including cameras and a security office at the entrance. The doors are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with administration personnel nearby in their first-floor offices. Every visitor needs to sign in, Vanier said, whether staying overnight or not.
Assistant Property Manager Grayson Colarusso lives in the building. Key fobs provide residents access to the building after hours, as well as to the common areas and rooms. The bright lobby features a brown and white tile floor, with views of the front and backyard common areas. The four-story building has two elevators.
Vanier displayed the model suite. The interior blends a tan floor and beige walls with dark brown trim. Like all rooms, it is completely furnished with kitchen appliances and furniture. That modern kitchen includes an oven, microwave, dishwasher, refrigerator and cabinets. The living space and bedrooms include a couch, chairs, beds, armoire, dresser and desk. There is one bathroom for every two beds. The first floor houses an exercise room, game room and dining area. The exercise room has treadmills, ellipticals and weights. Three flatscreen televisions help users take their mind off their workout. The game room provides a number of entertainment options, including billiards, air hockey, electronic darts and bubble hockey. There is also a snack machine and flat- screen television. Vanier said Kaya’s Kitchen has opened a small cafe on the first floor, with breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks available. The media room features a large flat-screen television with home theater speakers. A huge beanbag chair is in one corner, with a number of armchairs with attached circular snack stands. A computer room has one desk top unit and desks for six laptops. Vanier said there are two coin-operated laundry rooms in the building.
Efforts are under way to allow Cardinal Cash to be used for the laundry and vending machines, Vanier said. All of the common areas are air conditioned, but the suites are not. Internet access, both wireless and hard line, is included as well as cable-television service. The backyard common area is large and open, with a patio that features cafe-style tables and benches. The walkway is lined with tall, black ornamental light poles. There are enough parking spaces for every student. Parking passes will be used to identify who is eligible to park.
The housing is available to Plattsburgh State and Clinton Community College students as well as those in the CVPH School of Radiology. “If you aren’t a student, you can’t live here,” Vanier said. Students can live in co-ed suites if they apply together. Those that apply as a single student will be placed in a same-sex suite. The four-bedroom suites cost $7,200 per person for the academic year. The two-bedroom units go for $8,200 per person for the same period.
Resident managers get half off the annual cost of their room. “A lot of them have already been resident advisers,” Vanier said. Pets aren’t allowed, except for fish in bowls up to one gallon.
Vanier and Colarusso will work to arrange social events for the residents. They plan to get the SUNY system involved in any way they can. Students who are of legal age are allowed to consume alcohol, but it has to stay in the room, Vanier said. The building management team works with the students, Vanier said, such as waiting for their financial aid to arrive before they finish paying their bill. There is also an on-site maintenance manager and two people that work for him to keep the building ship-shape.
“The idea is to keep it the way it is right now,” Vanier said. She said the building opened for occupancy Aug. 22. There was quite a rush to finish enough space for the approximately 100 students presently living in the complex, she said. “We were up against it, but we worked as a team to get it open,” Vanier said.
Work had stopped last winter due to funding issues related to the international fiscal crisis. United Group and KeyBank were able to come up with a new financing arrangement. KeyBank made a $16 million construction loan to United Group, which provided $6 million in equity.
In a news release, KeyBank Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager Scott Fox said, “KeyBank was proud to provide construction financing for College Suites (at Plattsburgh). We saw its enormous potential, in light of current trends in higher education and in the evolving residency requirements of colleges.” United Group President Michael Uccellini said that financing came at a critical time for the project if it was to be finished for fall.
“Their team of professionals saw the immense potential in this development and how it would help the community and the students going to SUNY Plattsburgh,” he said in the news release. “We are excited about this new student housing project and how its presence will impact the housing options for students going to the college. We feel that College Suites will be a huge benefit to the community and the college in attracting students.”
Vanier said feedback has been fantastic. “Our goal here is definitely to raise the level of college housing,” Vanier said. “I think this is what Plattsburgh needed.”
by DAN HEATH for The Press Republican
