Western Oregon Journal

These two bedroom, one-and-a-half bathroom townhouses should open for occupacy in the fall as the second phase of the Arbor Park division. [Click to enlarge]

Sixteen new townhouses are set to debut at Western next fall, creating happy Wolves throughout the region looking to live near campus.

The 16,000-square-foot complex will be used for students who have families or for new faculty members or staff. This is the second phase of the Arbor Park division.

According to the director of University Residences Tina Fuchs, the need for new houses has been around for a while.

“For years we have had students with families on the waiting list for our Knox St. Family Housing,” she said, “and year after have not been able to meet the demand for family housing needs.”

"We also have a need every year to assist new faculty with transitional housing of some kind until they find a more permanent place to live.”

Western President Philip Conn feels the new houses will help those who want to be involved on the campus.

“Students today like to live their life and stay away from dorms. With the houses available to them they will be able to live on campus without being in dorms,” Conn said.

Construction began in December 2004 on the 2.86 million dollar project. The funds for the construction will come from bonds that will be paid through rent and other fees.

The rent for the houses will be $700.00 a month. This price includes all utilities including sewer, electricity, water, cable, phone and internet. Fuchs believes that the price for the houses compares well to other houses in the area.

“We did a market study of the area and found that our rates for these units are quite comparable, and in some cases, are lower than other newer townhouses because we include the utilities in the rent,” she said.

The houses are equipped with two bedrooms, one and a half bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room, washer and dryer, air conditioning, phone and high speed internet.

Darin Silbernagel, Western's director of business services, feels the internet is a big positive to the houses.

“I'd like to have the megabyte capabilities the houses have,” he said. “Cable T.V. is also a big sell. I never had that when I was in school.”

Noise and lack of parking have been the main problems associated with the construction of the houses, but they have been minimal, according to Fuchs.

“I have been impressed with how our students, in particular those in Arbor Park, have handled their frustrations with construction traffic and noise. They have voiced them appropriately and we have worked with the contractor to try to remedy some of the problems,” she said.

A survey on the parking lot was done before the construction took place. Only the parking spots that are needed by the contractor have been used according to Fuchs.

More housing may be on the way if the University believes the need still exists. Conn stresses nothing is on the drawing board as of right now.

“Originally the construction was supposed to bring in 32 townhouses,” he said. “Funds dried out though and we were only able to put together the 16 houses.”

Sixteen new townhouses are set to debut at Western next fall, creating happy Wolves throughout the region looking to live near campus.

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