Boise State breaks ground to start student housing project

by Jennifer GonzalezPublished: February 3,2011 Time posted: 12:00 pmTags: Boise State, ESI Construction, Oz Architects
Construction began Feb. 1 on the Lincoln Avenue student housing project that will provide Boise State University with additional housing for 360 students.
“Additional campus housing further develops the sense of citizenship we are building by placing students in the center of campus life,” Boise State President Bob Kustra said. “This housing community will allow a student to live on campus all four years, which studies show positively impacts student success.”
The project lines Lincoln Avenue south of the Lincoln Parking Garage. The 90 two-story townhouse style units offer a campus living option for upperclassmen. Expected completion date is January 2012.
State school officials recognize the importance of junior and senior students living on campus, but have not had the money to build more housing. The $15.8 million housing project, approved in January, is paid for with a combination of redirected bond proceeds, a result of savings from previous building projects and university and student housing reserves. The university will be repaid with student housing revenues.
Boise-based ESI Construction is general contractor for the project. Oz Architects of Denver is the architect.
The Lincoln housing project is Boise State’s dedicated to upperclass students. Demand for on-campus housing at Boise State continues to grow and the university has doubled its student housing capacity since 2004. About 2,300 students currently live on campus in six residence halls and a variety of suites/apartment complexes.
“To have a residential experience you have to have the right residential facilities,” said Jeff Hale, executive director of University Housing. “This is more than just a place where students will live. It completes the collegiate experience and enables students to better connect to resources like the library, campus recreation, the Student Union and health services.”
Each unit has four bedrooms and two baths and will offer students more space than is typically found in student housing. The initial 360-bed project that began today is part of a larger 874-bed design that may be completed at a later date.
The new housing option will help encourage juniors and seniors to continue to live on campus and be active members of a growing on-campus community, said Alexa Walker, student president of the University Housing Association.
“A four-year degree plan will now be matched with a four-year residential living plan for students,” Walker said.