N.C. A&T and its apartment-buying spree

[A&T AGGIE 96]

One of the bigger recent developments on the local higher ed beat has been the growth of N.C. A&T, now the biggest four-year historically black university in the nation at 12,556 students.

Related to that has been the expansion of A&T's campus housing. In the past couple of years, A&T through its real estate foundation has bought up a bunch of apartments on the eastern side of Greensboro:

• In 2018, the N.C. A&T Real Estate Foundation* bought two pieces of the Campus Evolution complex near campus for close to $19.6 million. The Pointes, as they're collectively known, have space for 360 students.


The Syllabus: N.C. A&T and its apartment-buying spree

[Jesse Jackson's Side eye]

"In roughly 18 months, A&T's real estate foundation has spent nearly $68.5 million to add 1,632 dorm beds...Most of North Carolina's public universities provide housing for roughly a quarter to a third of their undergraduates. At A&T this fall, 47 percent of undergraduates lived in housing owned or leased by A&T or its real estate foundation."

The above is what stuck out to me most, we are tending well above the average student to on campus bed for students among both UNC system schools and our peer institutions. Does anyone feel as The amount of students opting to live on campus is specific to A&T or is on campus living trending upwards for all schools now?

[Aggie One]

Its the growth. We've been adding between 250-300 additional students a year since 2012. The university has changed demonstratively over the last eight years and the trend is continuing to move upward. Its still fir cheaper to buy apartment complexes because they are far cheaper to build and maintain than the traditional dorm structures on the main campus.

We will still be breaking ground in the next year or so on the new Aggie residential village (700 cap.) on the northwest side of the campus. Once that is completed our student population will be over 15,000. 2025 will be here before we know it.

[A&T AGGIE 96]

It's good to see the administration is making sure we have the beds for continued growth. Over the years I've also seen growth in student support facilities as well...the new student union and health center come to mind. With that said the university has to make sure these types of support facilities keep up with university growth. For example, I would think a 15,000 student A&T would need more than one cafeteria, larger library (even if students use it differently now), and rec fields (green space).

The University master plan calls for many of these things, but I'd like to see more progress as we quickly start moving toward 15,000 students.

[aggie252]

Jan 8, 2020 13:20:45 GMT -5 Jesse Jackson's Side eye said:

"In roughly 18 months, A&T's real estate foundation has spent nearly $68.5 million to add 1,632 dorm beds...Most of North Carolina's public universities provide housing for roughly a quarter to a third of their undergraduates. At A&T this fall, 47 percent of undergraduates lived in housing owned or leased by A&T or its real estate foundation."

The above is what stuck out to me most, we are tending well above the average student to on campus bed for students among both UNC system schools and our peer institutions. Does anyone feel as The amount of students opting to live on campus is specific to A&T or is on campus living trending upwards for all schools now?

I would think that counting students living in apartments owned by the school as on-campus is why the number is so high for us. A&T students had already been living in these apartments for years before the school bought them. I would guess that if it was based solely on students who live in dorms,the number would drop to around the average. For a true comparison, we would need to know how many other NC schools own apartment complexes that is considered on-campus housing.

[aggierattler]

I absolutely love the growth that we are having and the vision that Dr. Martin and his team are unveiling.

With all of this growth, we need to make sure that SECURITY and FACILITY MAINTENANCE/UPKEEP is on-par with that growing enrollment and student-living.

[Maxell]

Jan 9, 2020 11:57:24 GMT -5 aggierattler said:

I absolutely love the growth that we are having and the vision that Dr. Martin and his team are unveiling.

With all of this growth, we need to make sure that SECURITY and FACILITY MAINTENANCE/UPKEEP is on-par with that growing enrollment and student-living.

Remember, this is the same department that keeps the stadium grass green. LOL

[captaggie]

Smh

[marchingband1969]

Oh heck if the same folk are responsible for the football field, maybe we need to deputize some alumni to patrol campus. Lol

[Bornthrilla]

I'll take the midday shift.