Housing crunch forces hundreds of University of Michigan students off campus
University of Michigan is closing Baits I next year.
Melanie Maxwell I AnnArbor.com
The temporary closing of an 850-bed dormitory and permanent shuttering of a 570-bed residence hall during the 2012-13 academic year will reduce the number of beds designated for undergraduates by roughly 400, leading to a record number of rising juniors and seniors looking off campus.
The shortage prompted U-M to rework the way it handles on-campus housing reservations, giving rising sophomores priority over upperclassmen, as it had before.
"It's the rising sophomores that typically need more of the community support that the residential experience provides," said U-M Housing Communications Director Peter Logan, adding that on-campus housing provides the "stability" that younger students need as they adjust to college.
"It was so tight for returning students to have spaces," Logan added.
Thus, rising sophomores picked their dormitories first, snapping up the preferred dormitories on Central Campus and the legacy halls near the Medical Campus. Dormitories in those areas have received $365 million in renovations over the past five years.
Once rising juniors were allowed to choose housing, only a few spots on or near Central Campus were left, forcing many to choose a spot on the North Campus —often considered less preferable because dorms are a 15-minute bus ride from Central Campus, although they're near the North Campus Research Complex and the music and engineering schools— or opt for off-campus housing.
By the time rising seniors got around to choosing, only North Campus dormitories had open spots.
Of the 3,829 students that said they originally wanted on-campus housing, 826 either opted not to live on campus because they changed their mind, were unsatisfied with what was available or were outright denied housing because no spots were open when they went online to search for on-campus rooms.
University Housing offered the about 180 students originally denied housing the opportunity to put their names on a housing waitlist. Each of the roughly 90 students who agreed to be waitlisted was eventually offered housing.
411 Lofts in downtown Ann Arbor saw 40 more leases signed now than it did this time last year.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
U-M projects that about 9,700 undergraduates, including 6,000 freshmen, will live on campus next year, compared with 10,100 this year. Freshmen are the only class at U-M guaranteed housing, although until this year U-M had generally been able to accommodate all students seeking on-campus residence.
"It was quite concerning to some of the older students. They liked living on campus. They came on board at a time when the priority was the longer you stay with us, the better your chances were (for your preferred housing) and we changed the process on them," Logan said. "It was met with some real disappointment and frustration with some of our rising juniors and seniors who said 'This isn't right, this isn't fair.' "
The result, Logan said, was that more students than usual chose to live off campus.
"There was a two-day period where we got swamped and the students were telling us it was because they were denied housing or they were getting the Northwood Housing (on North Campus) and they didn't want to live there," said CMB Property Manager Amy Khan. "We had a two day period of more traffic than we had ever seen."
Luckily for students, two new high rises are opening this year, adding 800 beds to the student housing market. Yet prices for a spot in some of Ann Arbor's newest apartment complexes reach as high as $1,745 per person per month. At CMB the average price is $950 a month for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,600 for a two-bedroom apartment. Most off-campus housing operates on a 12-month lease system, although some units offer nine-month leases during the academic year.
Comparatively, on-campus housing costs $9,468 during the fall and winter semesters (a roughly eight-month period) for a standard double with shared bathroom. That price includes 150 meals per semester.
Mark Foraker, senior vice president of Houston-based The Dinerstein Companies, which owns Sterling 4 Eleven Lofts, said the complex has 40 more leases signed now than it did this time last year.
"We definitely have seen a higher demand," he said. "Certainly a part of it is supply and demand. Supply has gone down on campus and there's more of a demand."
Logan said the new method of allotting dormitories will continue in upcoming years because the university does not plan to replace the 570-bed Baits I and plans to continue renovating a dormitory each year, meaning that hundreds of beds will be offline each year.
Sophomore Shayla Scales says living on campus "wouldn't have been an option" this year because of the new housing assignment system. Scales will be living in Courtyard Apartments near North Campus next year. Although the business administration major prefers to live near Central Campus and her classes at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, she said off-campus apartments in downtown Ann Arbor are too expensive.
"I was between University Towers, 411 Lofts and Courtyard on North Campus," the rising junior said, explaining that she ultimately settled on Courtyard Apartments because the rent is $700 per month. "Everywhere (near Central Campus) is between $850 and $1,000. ... It's very expensive."
The new housing assignment process isn't a miss for everybody. It worked well for freshman Megan Lawrence, who is living in West Quad next year, because she got to pick her first choice.
"A lot of people were really excited about it, but a lot of my friends who are older felt slighted," Lawrence said. "They were pretty frustrated when they found out 'Surprise, you have to hunt for housing.' ... I know a lot of people who rushed into housing and now they're not really happy with where they're living next year."
Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.
Comments
Goober
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 8:44 p.m.
I'll sell my house to the UofM to help them with their housing problem. They own the city anyway!
Stuart Brown
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 4:01 a.m.
Way to go Goober, this would save UofM thousands of dollars. At the rate that UofM spent on North Quad, my 2175 sq. ft. home in Ann Arbor would have cost over a million dollars to build! I'm left wondering how much payola ended up in Swiss bank accounts when North Quad was built.
buildergirl
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 7:45 p.m.
It's only 400 spots, of almost 10k. How is this news?
quinny
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 7:21 p.m.
As a freshman, I found a house located just off-campus for around $550 per month. The first thing that I was told by the University regarding housing was that they do not guarantee housing for non-freshmen. To say that a) there are alternatives to apartments and dorms (namely co-ops and houses) and b) these students were warned far in advance, is quite the understatement. To reiterate, as a FRESHMAN, I found CHEAPER and BETTER housing than the dorms. It's a dog eat dog world and a dog eat dog University. Sorry you have to actually put some work into finding a place to live, but it really wasn't all that hard.
jen777
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 6:39 p.m.
I remember in the 70s when they suddenly had a similar crisis and had to hold a lottery for sophmores who wanted to return to the dorm. With dorms being offline, I am sure it is worse now. I think the new apartment buildins will help but they aren't that cheap. Unfortunately a number of rental units around campus have also declined in quality/upkeep and people do not want to pay big $ for thoseo units.
JX
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 5:42 p.m.
@EBL and @Kellie Woodhouse: ICC ROCKS!
Eep
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 3:52 p.m.
Darn kids. Keep off my lawn!
grimmk
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 2:55 p.m.
At my old school they accepted too many people. So they converted lounges into bedrooms. Our wall MOVED a few inches since it was just plywood and particle board. My friend lived in another and it was TINY. Why they thought it was ok to have two people living in that space was beyond me. There was no space to move around with two beds, two desks and two foot lockers for closets. I think the U of M should give the students kicked off campus discounts on their rent.
ag
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 12:18 p.m.
Kicking a student off campus basically IS a discount on rent. Living on campus September-April is frequently more expensive than signing even a 12 month lease.
UM-Chris-13
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 3:53 p.m.
Strangely enough I believe that has already happened to an extent. A few years ago I lived in Markley Hall, and my understanding now is that all of the hall lounges have since been converted into dorm rooms to pack in as many beds as possible. This is definitely an issue, and I'm sure that the decrease in supply and probable increase in rent costs are going to price some students out of a college education. What a shame.
Kellie Woodhouse
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 1:52 p.m.
@EBL The ICC is an interesting housing option in and of itself. I'll definitely give you guys a call to learn more about what you're doing. @A2comments I deleted that extra 'run'. Thank you for pointing it out. Thanks for reading, too.
xmo
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 12:56 p.m.
Sounds like the students should be shouting "Build Baby Build!" instead of protesting, Flash Mobs etc!
Stuart Brown
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 3:53 a.m.
As the example of Bates shows, when UofM builds, they tear down as well. UofM should gift Bates to the ICC, but that would put downward pressure on rents so this will never happen; UofM has its priorities! Unlike UofM, the ICC has kept its costs in line with inflation while UofM averages room and board charges about 50% faster than the CPI. BTW, the ICC pays local property tax on its buildings (about $250,000/year--UofM pays nothing).
EBL
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 12:55 p.m.
There is one housing alternative not mentioned here. The Inter-Cooperative Council at the University of Michigan--the Student Housing Co-ops-- have been offering students an affordable alternative since 1932. Beginning with one house and 9 members, the ICC now offers 18 different houses for 550 students on North and Central Campus. Student members exchange their time spent cooking, cleaning and governing the houses for lower monthly charges--and 4 or 8 month contracts. All buildings have passed city inspections including annual food safety inspections. The Co-op motto is "Housing for People, not Profit." 2012 was declared the International Year of Cooperatives by the United Nations. Co-operatives are an alternative to the corporate economic model. Democratic control by members is their hallmark. It is no wonder that they have thrived during hard economic times. See the website at www.icc.coop. It would be nice if the author of this article interviewed some current ICC members to get their perspective.
Stuart Brown
Tue, Apr 17, 2012 : 3:39 a.m.
EBL, You missed the opportunity to point out that the ICC has kept its cost increases in line with inflation over the last 30 years while student housing at UofM has gone up at a much faster rate than inflation over the same time period. I moved into Mich House in September of 1981 and recall paying $220/month for room and board charges while Alice Lloyd charged me about $300/month. Using the figures from above, a dorm room today is $9468/8=$1184/month while Mich House goes for around $600/month. Using the BLS.gov inflation calculator, the 1981 prices in 2012 dollars are $555/month for the ICC and $757/month for a UofM dorm.
Mr. Me
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 12:09 p.m.
There is not enough high-density housing near Central Campus, and the city makes it too difficult to build more. Until that changes, students will keep living in housing developments where they aren't welcome even though the students themselves would rather live somewhere else.
Lizard
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 10:58 a.m.
We have the same situation as Halter, only we are at Woodland Mews. The kids use the road as a race track, park where they please, including blocking sidewalks and driveways because they are two lazy to walk a few extra feet. When they have parties it usually ends up with the police being called but nothing being done because it involves a football player or two. Oh yeah and they throw trash and beer bottles all over the place as well, daily.
beachbaby
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 3:43 p.m.
too make matters worse, it is probably the underage ones that live there that the police are ignoring.
Angry Moderate
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 3:06 p.m.
Your problem lies with the individual police officers who aren't doing their job, not all students who you are generalizing against.
A2comments
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 10:56 a.m.
Was this article proofread? "will reduce the number of beds designated for undergraduates beds" - Do undergraduate beds really need beds? "the legacy halls near the Medical Campus" - called the Hill Neighborhood. http://www.housing.umich.edu/undergrad Should you have defined what "rising" meant? One can figure it out, but new term to me. The rate quoted for on campus housing for next year is not determined until later this year. Yu used this year's rate, even though an estimate for next year is on the Housing website and is $9,752. On that list are lower rates that exclude meals (Northwood) that exclude meals and would be more comparable to an apartment. http://www.housing.umich.edu/billing/undergrad-rates Where is CMB? Done with that... Northwood was used to be married housing. Baits I and II were for transfer students and upperclassman. Then U of M changed things and put freshmen in those facilities and indicated that all of Northwood would likely be freshmen. That would have been ugly, so this rework is actually a good thing. When did U of M tell students that the process was changing? That could be the real issue, since off campus housing selection usually happens in late Fall and on campus happens in February I believe. Did U of M not advise of the new process until so late that less expensive off campus housing options were all ready gone? North Campus is social Siberia. Most students would prefer Central Campus. Sophomores living on main campus is much better.
grimmk
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 2:52 p.m.
Was yours? "Yu used this..."
arborani
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 1:34 p.m.
Well said. Also note "More University of Michigan upperclassMAN than usual . . ."
Barzoom
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 10:48 a.m.
Just in time for the new "Luxury" student apartments to become available.
Halter
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 10:22 a.m.
This has had an impact in less desirable ways where I live too... For 15 years I have lived in an apartment/townhouse complex near downtown but which has always been a quiet adult complex...this past year, they've rented to students because of the crunch and life here a been unbearable with students blasting their stereos at all hours, slamming doors as they enter/leave their apartments at all hours ( students dont seem to have a sense of normal sleep/wake hours) and littering up the entire complex. Can't wait for the new student housing apartments to open and get some of these kids out of here.
Angry Moderate
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 5:31 p.m.
"Partiers" does not mean "all students." And yes, everyone knows that some discriminatory landlords break the law and get away with it.
Commoncents
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 5:03 p.m.
Angry Moderate: You're missing the point. If a place has strict rules, it will keep out the partiers - they don't have to restrict age. It's like when night clubs say "Dress code: No Jerseys" they're don't actually care that guys with jerseys stand and drink beer quietly. Anyway - it's up to the apartment complex what they want to do, but there are ways around everything.
Angry Moderate
Mon, Apr 16, 2012 : 3:05 p.m.
There is no such thing as an "adult" complex. Landlords who discriminate on the basis of age are breaking the law, regardless of ignorant stereotypes that only students slam doors and blast music.