Plan for downtown student housing ‘on hold’
by June 24, 2009 7:58 am 67 views
A plan to build housing for about 100 University of Arkansas at Fort Smith students in downtown Fort Smith is on hold.
On Dec. 17, members of the Central Business Improvement District commission, which has governing authority in a large part of downtown Fort Smith, and UAFS Chancellor Dr. Paul Beran met to begin a process that could result in student housing in the downtown area. At the time, Beran told the commissioners there will be demand for married and older student housing in downtown Fort Smith — a belief supported by his estimate that UAFS will soon have more than 7,000 students but only about 1,000 beds on campus.
The university has 480 beds on the campus. Beran is seeking approval of the UA Board of Trustees to add up to 500 beds. As of December, UAFS had a waiting list of about 100 students wanting on-campus housing.
However, Beran said Tuesday (June 23) the effort is “on hold” because the university is about to embark on a more than $20 million construction of a 400-bed student housing complex on the UAFS campus. He said the priority is to get that housing up and open as soon as possible, and then refocus on investigating the viability of downtown student housing.
“I still believe there is capacity down there” but the housing will need to be financially attractive for upper level students who are 21 or older, Beran explained. He added that he envisions downtown student housing attracting older students who can afford a larger apartment and are interested in the entertainment opportunities of downtown Fort Smith.