A new housing option that promises graduate business students a mature environment and close proximity to campus will open this fall, and it is all being done free of charge for Ohio State.

Located at the corner of Kenny Road and Lane Avenue, Fisher Commons is an 118-unit apartment complex designed to be a living/learning community for graduate students in the Fisher College of Business.

There are about 150 graduate students in the business school this year and the staff at Fisher hopes the complex will bring these students closer to campus and give them a quality-living environment, said Jim Miller, associate to the dean in the Fisher College of Business.

“The living/learning community is the first of its kind in any business school in America,” Miller said. “The average age of our graduate students is 27, so we want them to be able to be a part of a living/learning community but still have an adult experience.”

Part of that adult experience includes apartments with washers and dryers, full kitchens, nine-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, full bathrooms and a community cyber cafe, Miller said.

Fisher Commons is free for OSU; it is built on university ground but is owned by Edwards Communities, which is leasing the land for 30 years. After that, the building will be gifted back to OSU.

The complex was designed to look similar to the buildings in the Fisher College of Business. The designers talked to people from the college and looked at current OSU buildings to get design ideas, said Nate Rivard, a representative for Edwards Communities.

Jeremy Whitmer has already leased a two-bedroom apartment at Fisher Commons for the fall. Whitmer, who is working toward his MBA in operations and logistics, said he is excited to live in his new apartment because it is close to campus and many of his friends are going to live in the complex.

“One of the best parts is not having everyone so spread out,” he said. “I really like the set-up of the apartments and I won’t have to be stuck in traffic anymore in the morning.”

Whitmer said he likes the idea of a living/learning community because it helps with group work and is more convenient for studying. He said he also likes the adult community and has friends moving into the complex with their families.

The rent for a one bedroom apartment is $700 per month and a two bedroom unit is $1,200, Rivard said. Only 12 of the 118 apartments are two-bedroom units and they have all been leased for the fall, along with many of the one-bedroom apartments.

“We’re very excited about it and student feedback has been extraordinary,” Miller said. “It’s a home run for us.”

Though the complex is meant only for graduate students in the business school, for the first year there will most likely be some housing available to graduate students in other fields and Edwards Communities is now taking a waiting list, Rivard said.

For more information on Fisher Commons, visit fishermba.osu.edu/student_life.

Ashley Bass can be reached at [email protected].