As of May 2004, Guilford’s rising enrollment strained its housing capacity. The idea to start building additional apartments had been established in early 2002, but the decision culminated in the completion of the South Student Apartments by the fall semester. Guilford made an appeal to the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities group (NCICU), said Jerry Boothby, Vice President of Finance and Administration. This group would finance the project and cover all debts obtained during the building of the new apartments.
The proposal was set to go ahead as planned, but when the school showcased their agenda to the Local Government Commission, the commission rejected the proposal, saying they did not like the overall approach.
Instead, the state compromised with Guilford and issued a Special Facilities Revenue Bond, which is not subject to taxes and is held in a separate budget from the college’s overall budget.
Under the previous plan, all rent from the apartments would have gone to NCICU for the next 30 years to pay for the apartments.
“Overall the end product, with the type of bond issuance that the college was able to achieve, was extremely favorable to the college in terms of financing,” Boothby said.
Risks associated with outside contracting were also decreased. Jonathan Varnell, Director of Facilities and Campus Services, thinks a more hands-on approach to the project helped gain support from both the community and upper classmen looking for alternative housing to live in.
“The trend is clearly towards single-rooms,” Varnell said, “especially for upper classmen. I think it’s what people want.” The apartments are also a logical progression towards bringing the school’s housing closer together: “We’re still after community life.”
After all the hard work from both Boothby and Varnell, the apartments were finished and ready for the fall term. Many students are pleased with the results of the location and accessibility.
“I think they made a good choice for the placement of the houses. It didn’t obstruct the trails or lake, which was pretty nice,” said sophomore Catherine Cummings. “I really like our new apartment. The good thing about it is that everything is new and there is ample space.”
“It helps having a kitchen and a living room of your own, and it makes it easier to separate your studying from your social time,’ said sophomore Maria Walsh-Cole. “Whereas before if I needed to study I’d have to kick people out, now I can just go in the other room.”
The new apartments represent a new phase of the school’s community life and record growth. While the original developing team, Capstone, did build the actual apartments, the school was itself responsible for financing the project.