As part of the Plan for Academic Enrichment, administrators have stepped up efforts to improve the University's off-campus housing offerings for graduate and undergraduate students.
The University's Office of Auxiliary Housing operates 43 properties, 34 of which are off-campus residences that house a total of 250 students. Preference for such housing is given to graduate students, and some units are specifically reserved for first-year grad students. Undergraduates are allowed a chance to live in these properties through an online application process, according to Abigail Rider, director of real estate and administrative services.
The effort to renovate these properties is in keeping with one of the goals of the Plan for Academic Enrichment: to improve "the quality of students' residential experiences and provide more housing options for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students."
The specific renovations being made are detailed in the University's master plan, known as the Strategic Framework for Physical Planning. The plan includes several goals pertaining to Brown's auxiliary housing, including "accessibility initiatives to move toward an open campus."
"The day after Commencement, College Hill bursts out in a rash of construction," Rider said. "Several properties had to be put offline during the summer in order to do safety upgrades," including "rewiring, installing different alarms and, in some cases, rectifying physical defects to better comply with codes."
For annual maintenance on the properties, the Office of Auxiliary Housing receives "an allotment of $28,000 per year for painting, wall paper and vinyl flooring," wrote Gail Medbury, director of rental properties, in an e-mail to The Herald. In addition, more comprehensive renovations can exceed $1 million.
Rider said this summer's construction resulted in "the spending of more money than usual" and "a loss of income, as (properties) were offline for three months." But Rider said "making money is not the mission - our mission is to house students."
According to Rider, the "biggest and most expensive renovation" took place at 315 Thayer St. Medbury wrote that the cost of that house's renovation was "in the $1 million range" and included "a new fire alarm system, exterior repainting, painting and a new roof."
Mark Savino '08, who currently lives in the newly renovated building, said he is very satisfied with the work that has been done. "I saw it last year and the entrance used to be a dirt path with a pile of bricks outside. Now there is a completely new entrance, and it looks good. Savino also said he is pleased with the "new roof, new windows, sinks, toilets and landscaping."
David Dryer '07, who lives in another University-owned off-campus house, wrote in an e-mail to The Herald, "Our house has had extensive work done, though more for the benefit of passers-by than for us. ... It looks great from the outside. The inside has remained mostly the same, and some of the repairs inside that we expected to be made prior to moving in never were."
"The significant premium one pays for Brown-owned housing," Dryer wrote, "seems worth it when they send someone over within five minutes, even after midnight, to fix such problems."
