NIU breaks ground for first new
student housing complex in 38 years

by Joe King

NIU officials and partners from Collegiate Development Services broke ground last Thursday for the first new student housing complex at NIU in 38 years.

The 120-unit Northern View Community will offer university operated apartment-style living intended specifically to serve the needs of graduate and professional students, international students, married students, students with domestic partners or children and others who wish to live on campus but for whom traditional residence hall living might not be feasible or attractive.

“This is another example of how we try to be a responsive university, attempting to better meet the needs of an important and growing population of students,” said NIU President John Peters. “The existing facilities for such students have long since served their duty, and replacing them with facilities that meet the needs of modern students has long been a dream for the university. This is truly an exciting day.”

NIU Trustee Robert Boey echoed Peters’ excitement, saying the project is an investment in the university’s future.

“Projects like this remind me of the definition of trustee: to hold this university in trust for future generations,” Boey said. “Strategic planning to meet the needs of our students – current and future – is one of the most important ways that we can fulfill our responsibilities as trustees. This project fulfills that duty.”

The new six-building development will be located on 10 acres a short distance northwest of the NIU Convocation Center on the university’s West Campus. The complex will have 120 units, an increase of 40 units over the existing University Family Housing, which it will replace.

It will include one-bedroom (6 units), two-bedroom (108 units) and three-bedroom (6 units) apartment-style configurations. All units will be accessible to all and adaptable, equipped with full kitchens, washers and dryers and Internet access.

Amenities within the complex will include a community center equipped with a state-of-the-art computer lab, community rooms, study areas and a playground for the children of residents.

The $20 million facility will be built without state or student money thanks to a partnership with Collegiate Development Services, a Texas-based not-for-profit organization that offers turn-key real estate development services to colleges and universities across the country, specializing in residence halls. The firm helped secure financing for the project, oversaw design and will oversee construction of Northern View Community.

The facility will be owned by Collegiate Development Services but managed by NIU Housing and Dining. At the end of the 32-year agreement, the building will be handed over to the university.

“With rising construction costs and dwindling state funding for higher education, partnerships like this are becoming increasingly common across the nation,” Peters said. “We are very proud to be working with one of the leading names in this industry, and we have every confidence that Collegiate Development Services will help us to create an outstanding facility that will make our graduate and professional programs even more attractive to potential students.”

The project has an ambitious construction schedule, with units expected to be ready for occupancy by the Fall 2007 semester. However, Lynn Krebs, vice president for business development at CDS, said he is confident that schedule can be met.

“As someone who has worked with universities across the country, I can say with tremendous confidence that you have one of the most dedicated and determined staffs in all of higher education,” Krebs said. “We look forward to working with you to make this dream a reality.”

That dedication and determination will be much in demand in the coming years, said Peters, who told those gathered at the frigid groundbreaking that he envisions the construction of Northern View Community as a first step in revitalizing all of the university’s housing stock.

“As I announced in my State of the University address, it is our goal to replace and improve all university housing over the next 10 years, bringing it up to the standards of the Stevenson Hall remodeling completed some years ago,” Peters said.

Northern View Community was designed by BLDD Architects (www.BLDD.com). S.M. Wilson (www.smwilson.com) will be the general contractor.

The existing University Family Housing facilities, built in 1959, will be razed when the Northern View Community is completed.

For more information about Northern View Community, visit the Web site at www.niu.edu/northernview/.

10-16-06