FAMU student housing construction plan could add 1,000 new beds on campus by 2024

Florida A&M University could add roughly 1,000 new beds in newly built residence halls through a two-year process that would demolish three older residence halls.

An update on the proposed housing construction plan was made during a meeting of the Board of Trustees budget and finance committee Wednesday, with the proposal coming as a result of a higher demand for on-campus housing and an increase in freshmen enrollment.

“When we look at our academic success, students living on campus maintain higher GPAs and graduate at an earlier rate than students living off campus by developing living learning communities,” FAMU Vice President of Student Affairs William E. Hudson Jr. told trustees.

“Living learning centers are the types of housing that are going to be desired for us to reach that top 100,” he added, referring to the national public schools rankings of the U.S. News and World Report, “so we have to recognize that and also adjust to that as well.”

The buildings that would be demolished are Gibbs Hall with 293 beds, which has been closed since 2019 due to maintenance issues, Palmetto South with 360 beds and Phase 3 Apartments with 360 beds, where a recent pest infestation led to students being relocated off campus for a week before moving back in early September.

Demolishing the residence halls means a total of 1,013 beds would be replaced through the new, modern-style buildings that would then be constructed on campus.

Student Body President and trustee Zachary Bell, a fourth-year business administration major, believes there is a lot of room for growth, taking the newest dorms of FAMU Towers as an example, even though there is also an importance tied to sustaining the culture of the campus through the old buildings.

“The FAMU Towers does not have the same feel as Paddyfote or Gibbs did,” Bell told trustees. “But at the same time, we’re moving into an era of housing where students can find the different resources that they need right where they live, rather than having to go to different spots around campus.”

Related news:

• FAMU's Paddyfote dorm wasn't the Hilton, but it was home for generations of students

• 'Pest infestation' leads FAMU to relocate Palmetto Phase 3 apartment residents to local hotels

The construction proposal update also comes after FAMU’s recent housing issues of not having enough space for incoming freshmen before the start of the fall semester, where more than 500 students were impacted by the unavailability.

Following the housing turmoil was the decision made in August to buy property near campus for additional student housing, with the closing date for the property being Oct. 15. The purchase will bring almost 250 more beds for students.

More:

• FAMU footprint expands: University spends $14 million to buy student housing near campus

• Students, parents on a 'stressful' hunt for off-campus housing: Here are some solutions

“Access to modern student housing for FAMU students increases the FAMU brand and what we're putting out in the community, and it increases the number of students arriving on campus,” Hudson told trustees.

FAMU’s fall 2022 enrollment of 9,027 students is a slight increase compared to its fall 2021 enrollment of 9,005 and fall 2020 enrollment of 9,000.

But there has also been a 32% increase of 707 first-time-in-college students this fall, who are required to live on campus, and the university's projected fall semester enrollment for 2025 is 9,980 students.

Hudson also said the 1,000 new beds would be added after a survey conducted by Novogradac and Company LLP showed housing demands from the FAMU student body, including graduate students, who are interested in apartment-style housing.

The proposed student housing is expected to be a mixture of modern-style units:

• Semi-private bedroom suites with a bathroom shared by two students (700 beds)

• Private bedrooms with a private bathroom (10 beds)

• Two-bedroom apartment style units (200 beds)

• Three-bedroom apartment style units and four-bedroom apartment style units (90 beds)

The university’s master plan would determine the locations of the new buildings. Hudson said the three residence halls requested to be demolished would be available, along with the Palmetto North and Paddyfote sites as well as vacant lots near FAMU Towers.

Hudson hopes for trustees to give the go-ahead for negotiating contracts and demolishing the old residence halls to start taking place by December.

With the construction proposal ongoing, there are no specific details on what the cost of the new additions will be – a concern that was raised by trustee Nicole Washington.

"In theory, it makes sense, but I do think that the actual numbers around what the cost of this would be would make it easier for us to have an informed discussion,” Washington said at the meeting. “I would hope to have a little bit more meat on the bones around timing and costs for the different options.”

The U.S. Department of Education’s HBCU Capital Financing Program, which gave FAMU and 44 other HBCUs finance debt discharges in 2021, is being considered for funding. If all goes according to the timeline of the proposed housing construction plan, the process of completing the application for the fund would be in January 2023.

Contact Tarah Jean at tjean@tallahassee.com or follow her on twitter @tarahjean_. 

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FAMU student housing plan could add 1,000 new beds on campus by 2024