University Manor Apartments will shut down indefinitely after this semester.
By shutting the apartments down, the university saves maintenance staff time. The change will not save any money since the residents’ fees balance out utility costs.
The apartments are generally reserved for graduate students and students with families. They are not widely advertised to undergraduate students. Max capacity is 30 residents. Fifteen students live there this semester.
“We geared UMA to law students this year because they wanted their own area, and its location across the street gives it a different atmosphere,” said Kevin Culbertson, director of housing operations. “We didn’t see the demand we intended, so we opened it up to a few undergrad students in special circumstances.”
Cokesbury Court Apartments are not at full occupancy, so housing staff feels confident that UMA’s additional space will not be necessary next year, Culbertson said.
“I have enjoyed my apartment in UMA very much this semester,” said Abigail Padgett, nursing junior. “Although I am sad to see them close the space, I think it would be a wise move to focus more on the other existing campus housing facilities and sell the UMA complex to management that could turn the space into something that meets its potential.”
There are no definite plans for the space. OCU still owns the building, but no one will use the utilities until the school decides what do to with the property.
“We’re in the evaluation stage, so we don’t have any definitive answers,” said Michael Burns, director of residence life. “Before making decisions, we need to determine if it’s a space we can and will use.”
If the university keeps the apartments, housing staff members plan to develop a strategic renovation plan for the space, Culbertson said. Some rooms are renovated, while others have partial or no renovation. There is no consistent room style.
Culbertson said:
Work certainly needs to be done there, but UMA is not our primary concern. If other housing still needs maintenance work, why would we unnecessarily send our staff over there?
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