At the Aug. 29 Board of Trustees meeting, board members approved the purchase of the final two properties necessary to proceed with the plans to construct graduate student housing on Neil Avenue. The properties, at 1578 and 1584 Neil Ave., are in contract for purchase by Ohio State.
According to Bill Hall, vice president for Student Affairs, the acquisition of the properties will help meet a seemingly perpetual need for graduate and professional students at OSU.
“There is a continuing demand for on-campus housing for graduate students,” Hall said.
Steve Kremer, associate director of Residence Dining and Residence Life, agreed.
“It will take up a significant portion of an entire city block,” Kremer said. “I believe the new buildings will be a remarkable addition both to the University and to Columbus.”
Jones Graduate Tower, located on Curl Drive is currently the only dormitory for graduate students on campus.
Because the proposed properties are still in contract, the university hopes to close on the properties within 60 to 90 days. The buildings on the properties will be torn down, and the bidding process for contractors will begin hopefully in October, according to Kremer. The process is on schedule.
Kremer said OSU hopes the new housing will be open to residents for autumn quarter 2003.
A process of negotiating the relocation of off-campus student residents currently housed in both prospective properties on Neil Avenue will go into effect.
Project Manager Lu Schubert of the URS corporation, a lead architect company involved with the proposed complex, told The Lantern in July that the complex, which will cost about $24 million in already raised funds, will consist of four buildings and cover about 218,000 square feet.
The plans for new graduate housing have been ongoing for much of the past decade. Hall said the university has been purchasing properties on Neil Avenue for the past four or five years. Still standing buildings are slated for demolition.
