The Signal

Serving the College since 1885

Friday March 29th

Everything you need to know about the Campus Town experience

(Photo courtesy of Darby Delmonte / Staff Photographer)
(Photo courtesy of Darby Delmonte / Staff Photographer)

By Nicholas Steinhauser
Staff Writer

Though the College’s housing application deadline has passed, Campus Town, the apartment complex adjacent to campus, still has apartments available for the 2023-24 academic year. For anyone considering living at Campus Town in the future, here’s what you should know.

While the housing options on campus provide you with the essentials for living on your own, Campus Town has some additional offerings. Students have access to their own kitchen and bathroom with a shower, which is shared with one other person. They are supplied with all the furniture like tables, chairs, closets and beds that are constantly refurbished to make sure they are of good quality.

“There is nice quality stuff in the house, similar to that of a normal house,” said Becky Klein, a junior psychology major and resident of Campus Town. “Even if something gets broken, Campus Town maintenance will come over quickly to fix it.”

They also get their own appliances like a dishwasher, sink, laundry machine and dryer. Students will only have to share these things with their roommates, but they can choose a single apartment if they wish to have space for themselves. Students also have control over the heat and air conditioning units in their apartment complex, which is not possible at many on-campus housing options.

Even if you live in a four-bedroom apartment, you still have your own bedroom with a full-sized bed. This provides students with privacy while also keeping them close to their roommates and friends. 

“I am still very close to roommates, even though I have my own space,” said Klein. “It’s nice to have my own room while also having the common area to connect with my friends.” 

One of the more important things to consider about Campus Town is the pricing, which has its downsides, according to some students. 

Reece Danzis, a junior English major and resident of Campus Town, believes that students with financial aid, which can help cover the cost of Campus Town, should live there due to the convenience of being close to campus. However, she would not recommend it to students without financial aid because of the prices, which she argues are hardly justifiable and the main problem with Campus Town.

“I personally believe that spending about $2,000 a month for a two-bedroom apartment is too pricey,” Danzis said.

In a day and age with high inflation, Campustown staff cannot promise that they can make the prices more accommodating for students. 

“Everything is going up. If we could charge less, we would,” said Greg Lentine, Campus Town’s director of campus development.

Campus Town, while not considered on-campus, is still conveniently close to the College. This gives students the luxury of not having to walk very far to reach their classes. There are also several well-known eateries within the Campus Town complex that are easily accessible to Campus Town residents, like Insomnia Cookies and Jersey Mike’s.

However, some students have expressed that the stores in Campus Town don’t completely reflect what a college student might need, such as a pharmacy. With the recently available space left by Arooga’s, the Campus Town Department now has the ability to add a new store that many students may want.

Campus Town also has the benefit of being open all throughout the academic year, even during winter and spring breaks, making it a good option for out-of-state students who do not wish to travel home as often.

Currently, Campus Town is in the process of initiating a proposal to bring new housing to the complex, which will add more living choices for students. However, with new options come higher prices as the company would need more money to sustain this housing.

Another perk of living in Campus Town is security. Campus Town is patrolled by the campus police, whose headquarters are located just up Metzger Drive and can respond quickly in the event of an emergency. This provides a level of safety that may not be present if one were to live in an apartment away from campus.

Campus Town managers release surveys about two times each year to gauge the importance of certain issues among the Campus Town residents. These surveys tend to have high satisfaction and approval ratings, showing that despite some quibbles, many previous residents here would recommend it to future ones.

The Campus Town Department also tries to address any problems that students express about the living conditions, such as lighting and Wifi connection. The department says they are mindful of student concerns and always tries to fix any issues they may have. Whenever work orders are placed, Lentine says Campus Town maintenance teams strive to respond quickly to fix any issues with the apartments. The Campus Town administration believes that in order to keep their apartments full, they must continuously offer quality-conditioned housing that students can feel comfortable and safe in.

Campus Town maintenance also involves the continuous assessment of the quality and safety of the living arrangements. Within the next year, management plans to inspect five of the buildings to ensure that they are of good condition to live in.

“Over the ten years of working here, we developed an extremely good relationship with the College, police and staff,” Lentine said. “We work with them as if we are a part of campus.”

Campus Town also provides a close connection to the College that wouldn’t be possible by living in an outside apartment.

“We want Campus Town to be an experience,” Lentine said. “We want students to like it here, and to do this, we need to make sure we constantly improve.”




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