Granite Counters & Stainless Steel in Dorms?
June 1, 2009It’s happening. An article published by the Associated Press on Friday discusses how empty condo projects are now attracting the attention of higher education institutions around the country. Why? With the projects sitting empty and no sales occurring, some schools have been able to score killer deals on buildings, which will serve as student housing. HERE is the article, but if you don’t have time, here are a few quotes:
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“This is a bonanza of an opportunity … for universities to acquire the space they desperately need,” said Dan Fasulo, managing director of Real Capital Analytics.
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“They can’t sell them, they can’t mothball them, they can’t bulldoze them,” said Jack McCabe, a Florida-based real estate analyst. “Developers right now are looking for every way not to lose their projects into foreclosure.”
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“To build a facility of this quality for a university, there’s no way we could have done that for that purchase price,” said Nichole Johnson, a Capital University spokeswoman.
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Students at Johnson & Wales University will pay yearly rents of $10,383 for one-bedroom apartments and $9,249 to share a two-bedroom unit — comparable prices to on-campus dorms.
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People who run colleges and universities are pretty smart folks, and they’re seeing opportunity in today’s market that’s just too good to pass up. Good for them.
As a last point: If you’ve lost your job, maybe it’s a good time to head back to school and live better than most. After all, today’s average stainless steel fridge holds about 4 times as much beer as the old mini-fridges the rest of had in our dorms (if you were lucky enough to even have a mini-fridge). Oh to be a student again…
College is serious business
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