Reporter Volume 25, No.8 October 21, 1993

By ANN WHITCHER
Reporter Editor

A proposal to build apartment-style housing has been modified,
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Dennis Black told the UB Council last week, with the site now planned
for the northeastern corner of the campus near Sweet Home High School.
	Campus officials previously sought to build the apartments for
graduate, professional and married students on the remaining 7.5 acres
of undeveloped land of Parcel B, North Campus. "We developed some
difficulties over the land-lease arrangements that we had entered into
for that property about 15 years ago," Black explained, "and therefore
took a different look at the project, trying to achieve the same goals
for the campus."
	The proposal under review, Black said, entails a mix of one,
two, three and four-bedroom units, with size varying from 540 to 900
net square feet. In all, there would be approximately 359 bed spaces.
Each apartment would include kitchen appliances, furnishings, storage
space, cable TV, computer hookups and parkingQ"the kind of amenities
you'd find in an off-campus apartment complex," Black told the
Council. Common spaces would include laundry and recreation areas,
meeting rooms and possibly, child care facilities. 
	Black pegged the total cost of the project at $16.8 million,
signaling "a move from state-supported residential complexes on state
university campuses, to self-supported residential complexes." 
	According to Black, campus officials hope to forward a
proposal to the State University Construction Fund/Dormitory Authority
later this fall, following further campus planning and consultation.
The plan calls for completion of design, award contract and the
beginning of construction in the fall of 1994, with occupancy set for
August 1996.
	Another reason for choosing the new site, which Black
described as property controlled by the State University, is its
proximity to the Ellicott Complex and the advantages the location
holds for placement of utilities and transportation.
	"We're trying to develop a residential community," said Black.
"We'd like to build a small, self-contained residential community that
would provide easy access to the residents on and off campus, as well
as easy service delivery into the area."
	Black said the concept calls for three-story, townhouse-style
apartments with identified parking for each bed space. According to
Black, the project would give students apartment-like amenities not
usually present in dormitories; create a larger on-campus student
population in support of campus life, and enhance recruitment. The
project would contain adequate lighting and blue light telephones for
security; units would be accessible to persons with disabilities.