Committee expected to discuss prospective housing changes

 

The Andros complex could see a makeover into a “village,” including 2,500 new beds, “appropriate retail, dining, parking, recreational and other attractive student amenities on three possible sites,” according to agenda documents from a recent Board of Trustee workgroup meeting.

A selection committee is expected to make an offer to one of three advisory firms early this month to steer the Student Housing Redevelopment Project.

The agenda document said the project will be “phased … to maintain current minimum levels of student housing and increase housing incrementally based on demonstrated absorption potential, alignment with enrollment planning and demand from targeted students for new housing.”

According to the 2012-13 University Audit and Compliance report, the 2012 fiscal year saw a decrease in operating income for Housing and Residential Education “of approximately $367,000 over prior year due to a decrease in total student headcount and the resulting number of student residents.”

The agenda document said the project is “expected to increase the number of students living on campus, increase the number of out of market and foreign students and support the University’s credit position, which is expected to provide a substantial positive financial impact.”

USF St. Pete is also in talks over purchasing a 10,000-square-foot building owned by Gulfcoast Legal Services.