Lake Michigan College Building Its First On-Campus Housing

by Katie Sloan

Benton Harbor, Mich. — The $8 million facility will be financed by bonds and repaid by residents over 30 years.

The 200 units will be complete in 2014.Benton Harbor, Mich. — Members of the board of trustees as well as President Robert Harrison of Lake Michigan College (LMC), a two-year community college approximately 50 miles west of Kalamazoo, Mich., broke ground July 9 for the construction of the first student housing facility on the college’s Napier Avenue Campus.

“On-campus living will increase enrollment, encouraging recent high school graduates to stay close to home, and attracting students from outside the region to unique programs such as energy production and healthcare,” Harrison says.

The $8 million facility will be financed through bonds to be repaid with housing fees paid by the residents over 30 years. LMC chose Student Suites, a developer from Independence, Missouri, that specializes in planning on-campus housing for two-year colleges. Student Suites conducted a market survey that justified construction of at least 300 to 350 rooms. The current facility will include 200 units, and can be expanded at a later date.

Hollis + Miller Architects, with offices in Overland Park, Kan., and Lee’s Summit, Mo., designed the building. Construction will be completed by fall 2014.

The three-story housing complex will provide private rooms in two- or four-person suites, with in-suite kitchen, bathroom, laundry facilities as well as technological resources. Located adjacent to the track and near on-campus entertainment at the Mendel Center, community amenities will include a beach volleyball court and Frisbee golf course, a student courtyard, lounges and study spaces.

 

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