Luxury apartment developments like Luxe Belle, shown here, provide high-end living spaces for
students near campus. Credit: Kaitlan Harlan | Lantern Reporter
As housing developers flock to the University District, a surge of luxury apartments might reshape how students navigate off-campus living.
Luxury apartment developments like StateHouse Varsity — formerly known as the Wellington — Luxe Belle, Lumen on Ninth and Highline on Nine provide high-end living spaces for students near campus. Many of these new complexes offer amenities like full-length pools, daily access to coffee bars and safety features, including heightened security.
Beloved off-campus bars such as The Little Bar and Bier Stube have been affected by these new apartments, with both bars being slated for demolition to make way for luxury developments, per prior Lantern reporting.
As these premium complexes continue to populate the University District, the local housing landscape is shifting, leading to an increase in questions about student priorities and affordability.
One of the big selling points associated with luxury apartments is the various amenities offered to tenants, said Molly O’Dell, a second-year in communication and current StateHouse Varsity resident.
“I really like the amenities, like having a gym, pool, a garage and really just feeling safe, especially in Columbus,” O’Dell said.
Justin Garland, vice president of Buckeye Real Estate and a commissioner on the University Area Commission, said close proximity to campus plays a large factor in university development decisions, as well as students’ personal housing preferences.
“I think that we’ve seen the new development of these purpose-built student housing complexes,” Garland said. “The intention of it was to get the density around High Street and pull students from further away parts of areas like the Fourth Street area. I think that we’re starting to see some of that, and you’re seeing different demographics moving into those areas.”
Though amenities and location are key appeals, safety is also a significant consideration for students, especially in off-campus areas. In fact, O’Dell said safety played a considerable role in her choice to lease a luxury apartment.
“Safety was one of the major draws because we have to key in everywhere like the front door, elevators and our apartment door,” O’Dell said. “It makes it a lot harder for people to get in, which was important to my parents.”
Vivek Prasad, a fourth-year in political science, said he decided against the luxury lifestyle due to a need for more room capacity, but he has dealt with several safety problems while living in an off-campus rental home.
“We had one person break into our cars and two separate house burglaries,” Prasad said.
Safety is one of the primary reasons students choose a luxury apartment over traditional housing, said Sophie Popovich, general manager of Luxe Belle.
“More students are checking out apartments compared to houses, partly due to safety concerns,” Popovich said. “Luxury apartments are becoming increasingly popular among juniors and seniors, especially with the influx of new apartment developments.”
Despite these perks, this housing shift comes at a high cost.
Garland said the average cost for a typical off-campus housing unit, like a Buckeye Real Estate unit, is roughly $750 per month. Meanwhile, Liv Kelly, a third-year in exercise science, said she pays roughly $1,450 per month to live in StateHouse Varsity — almost twice the amount of a non-luxury complex.
“I would say [traditional off-campus housing is] more affordable than the apartment,” Prasad said. “I have the biggest room, and I pay $950.”
In light of the price disparity between traditional and luxury student housing, some students expressed concerns over the potential for socioeconomic gaps to arise within the student body.
“I wouldn’t categorize every single person that lives in a luxury apartment as being in a higher socioeconomic class, but people definitely associate your status that way if you’re living somewhere like Lumen or Rambler,” Kelly said.
O’Dell agreed.
“Now, when I tell people about it, they are like, ‘You’re fancy, you live in [StateHouse Varsity],’” O’Dell said. “I wouldn’t say it swayed my opinion, but it’s definitely most known who’s living in it.”
