For students looking for housing options off-campus in the future, USF’s Department of Housing and Residential Education announced it would be affiliating with the apartment complexes Avalon Heights and The Province.

The new affiliation was announced Monday by USF Housing. The affiliation with Avalon Heights and The Province follows affiliations with Campus Club and 4050 Lofts, which were announced in the fall.

Larry Greenberg, regional vice president of American Campus Communities, the corporation that owns the Avalon and Province properties, said both the university and students on campus will benefit from the affiliation.

“It gives the university the ability to extend its number of beds… and gives students the peace of mind of living in a university setting,” Greenberg said.

Under the new affiliation, according to a press release from USF Student Affairs, USF Housing will refer any upperclassmen, transfer and graduate students to the properties if the “demand for on-campus space exceeds the capacity.”

Currently, on-campus housing is at 104 percent capacity with more than 5,400 students living on campus. Within three days of sign-ups becoming available to upperclassmen this year, more than 500 students were placed on wait lists.

Avalon Heights can accommodate more than 700 students in 210 fully furnished apartments, and The Province can accommodate more than 900 students in 287 fully furnished apartments.

The press release said the partnership will allow USF to move closer to achieving its priority of becoming a “primarily residential” campus, something defined by the Carnegie Foundation as including “institutionally-owned, -operated, or -affiliated housing.”

Greenberg said the properties were chosen by USF after university housing and facilities officials toured the property in February and evaluated various programs at each property.

“We feel that these properties offer an enjoyable residential experience, are in close proximity to the USF Tampa campus, and all or most of the affiliated community consists of USF students in good standing…” a statement on the USF Housing website said. “We feel that eligible USF students who choose to live in these properties can have a beneficial experience.”

Greenberg said the affiliation falls in the middle of a $1 million renovation of Avalon Heights and plans of upgrades for The Province. The recent renovations of Avalon include a brand new clubhouse and fitness center, as well as other improved facilities. Upgrades for The Province are in the planning stages, following American Campus Communities purchase of the property in November.

“The experience will be absolutely better than it was a year ago (before renovations),” Greenberg said.

Both The Province and Avalon Heights, Greenberg said, provide social and academic residence life programs designed for students similar to events and programs held in on-campus housing. Greenberg said the properties are designed for “academically-oriented housing.”

“Our programs can help a student be a better student,” he said. “However they need assistance, we offer programs thinking of the success of the student.”

For four-bedroom apartments, Avalon Heights’ pricing starts at $544 and The Province’s starts at $579, according to their websites.

-— Reporting by Alex Rosenthal