Residence Halls & apartments

[okinawatyphoon]

I thought I would create a thread about upcoming plans for residence halls on campus, as well as other housing options such as apartments. Please feel free to contribute photos and any news you may have about these projects!
 
  Uptown East, which currently has three buildings mostly for Valpo students, has started construction on their fourth and final building. The picture below from their website shows the fourth building's progress. It is on the site of the former College View apartments (aka the meth apartments, or the ugly red buildings across from LeBien Hall).


Another project that is supposed to be under construction already is University Promenade. This project will consist of two three-story buildings on both sides of University Drive. The first floor will have retail spaces with two-story condos above. They are being marketed toward students I believe. Here is a picture from a NWI Times article. The photo shows the buildings on both sides of University Drive, with Lincolnway on the bottom of the picture and the campus in the background. The building on the left will be built first.

[vuweathernerd]

i don't recall ever hearing about the university promenade, but i certainly like the concept. and thank god the crappy red apartments are gone - those were HIDEOUS!!

[78crusader]

This is probably a dumb question, but what do VU students think of the residence halls?  Over the years I've seen residence halls at maybe 6-8 other schools (all similar in size to VU) and the residence halls at these other places did not seem appreciably better than what VU offers.  In fact, I can think of at least two places where the dorms were appreciably worse.  Paul

[okinawatyphoon]

This is probably a dumb question, but what do VU students think of the residence halls?  Over the years I've seen residence halls at maybe 6-8 other schools (all similar in size to VU) and the residence halls at these other places did not seem appreciably better than what VU offers.  In fact, I can think of at least two places where the dorms were appreciably worse.  Paul

I was a tourguide for the university for 2.5 years (ending less than a year ago), so I regularly saw prospective students (and parents) and their reactions to the residence halls in addition to my own experiences. I think that right now, compared to many state schools in the Great Lakes region, we are about average for our freshmen residence halls. But I think that are starting to lose ground to some private schools and other state schools that are building new facilities. In my opinion (and from what I've heard), the residence halls aren't a dealbreaker for most prospective students, but we certainly are not going to attract students based on the residence halls.

[KL31NY]

This is probably a dumb question, but what do VU students think of the residence halls?  Over the years I've seen residence halls at maybe 6-8 other schools (all similar in size to VU) and the residence halls at these other places did not seem appreciably better than what VU offers.  In fact, I can think of at least two places where the dorms were appreciably worse.  Paul

I've lived in Brandt and Wehrenberg, both of which are pretty old and cramped. I can't compare to other buildings on campus or elsewhere, but it's not a great experience. Brandt generally has a lot of bad seeds inside that are annoying to live with, and Berg is built like a fortress, cutting off cell and internet reception. Moving next to Uptown, which should be a more enjoyable experience.

[vuweathernerd]

This is probably a dumb question, but what do VU students think of the residence halls?  Over the years I've seen residence halls at maybe 6-8 other schools (all similar in size to VU) and the residence halls at these other places did not seem appreciably better than what VU offers.  In fact, I can think of at least two places where the dorms were appreciably worse.  Paul

I've lived in Brandt and Wehrenberg, both of which are pretty old and cramped. I can't compare to other buildings on campus or elsewhere, but it's not a great experience. Brandt generally has a lot of bad seeds inside that are annoying to live with, and Berg is built like a fortress, cutting off cell and internet reception. Moving next to Uptown, which should be a more enjoyable experience.

i too lived in both of these buildings. i rather liked berg, and felt that it was much better updated than are the other buildings, especially with furniture. and the cell service issue seemed to depend more on the service provider. (verizon was better than at&t in the building, for example.) even the slightly more spacious first floor rooms in lank/alumni/brandt aren't particularly stellar. uptown is most definitely an improvement. but new freshmen residence halls are certainly needed (hopefully with air conditioning this time).

[agibson]

Driving by some of the new apartments on the lincolnway/laporte corridor, it seemed like most of the commercial spaces on the first floor were still empty.

I like the notion of pulling that corridor more firmly into the campus environment with higher quality residences, and hopefully some businesses.  We'll see how it goes. 

The university seems to like the idea of cooperating with developers to build housing.  I think the notion is that since it's a commercial enterprise, they can find companies to help foot the construction bill.  Beats having to raise it all yourself.  It seemed to me that the dorms were in a whole different economic world than the rest of Valpo (very expensive compared to the surrounding community, not much to show for it in terms of amount or quality of space) - perhaps the injection of a capitalist spirit will help here too.  If prices don't go down, perhaps quality will at least go up.

[okinawatyphoon]

Here's an update from the Uptown East Facebook page. Only one more floor left to go on the final building in this project. This building is different from the others because it has one-bedroom units and balconies.

[a3uge]

The speed at which these buildings are put up is astonishing. I swear they literally put up the second floor in one day.

[StlVUFan]

The speed at which these buildings are put up is astonishing. I swear they literally put up the second floor in one day.

When they start using hypnotism to construct them in an hour, worry

[okinawatyphoon]

The speed at which these buildings are put up is astonishing. I swear they literally put up the second floor in one day.

It appears they are using pretty cheap materials to build these apartments, so it's no surprise it's rising so quickly.

[okinawatyphoon]

This building has now topped out. Looks like it should be ready by the start of the fall semester.

*image from Uptown East Apartments website

[VU75]

The speed at which these buildings are put up is astonishing. I swear they literally put up the second floor in one day.

When they start using hypnotism to construct them in an hour, worry

Is that a Monty Python  reference?

[StlVUFan]

The speed at which these buildings are put up is astonishing. I swear they literally put up the second floor in one day.

When they start using hypnotism to construct them in an hour, worry

Is that a Monty Python  reference?

Indeed!

[valporun]

The speed at which these buildings are put up is astonishing. I swear they literally put up the second floor in one day.

When they start using hypnotism to construct them in an hour, worry

Is that a Monty Python  reference?

Indeed!

As much Monty Python says, "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life"

[okinawatyphoon]

The university promenade project has not broken ground yet, but the final uptown east building is coming along nicely and has really transformed the area.

[valporun]

Any available pictures, okinawa?

[okinawatyphoon]

Any available pictures, okinawa?

Not of the apartments, but I do have some pictures of campus. I am in the middle of moving so I haven't been to a proper computer in a while. I'll try and post soon!

[valporun]

Any available pictures, okinawa?

Not of the apartments, but I do have some pictures of campus. I am in the middle of moving so I haven't been to a proper computer in a while. I'll try and post soon!

Take your time on the pictures. There is plenty of time.

[letsgovu]

I have had a child live in lank, brandt and gm.  Yes the dorms are old, and overall, kinda gross.  But my biggest problem with the dorms is the upkeep. 

In general, it smells moldy in the halls.  this past year when we returned after spring break it was clear that the carpets at gm had been cleaned or something had been done in the hallways and it smelled much better.  That was the first time I noticed something had been done about the smell.

The laundry room at lank the entire year my kid lived there was disgusting.  There was always lint and trash and filth scattered throughout every time I visited the laundry room.  I understand that this is because the kids are pigs, but the room needs to get cleaned more than once or twice a year.

snow removal.  my biggest beef.  every time I have visited to pick up my kid during snowy seasons there has been no snow removal around the dorms.  If you are familar with Lank there are stairs leading to the entrance.  without fail these were always snow covered and icy every time I visited including the day the dorms were closing for winter break and many many parents were there picking up their kid.  I slipped on the stairs twice that day carrying stuff out.  It just galled me that no one could be bothered to clear the snow or throw some salt there when parents would be coming.

[vuweathernerd]

snow removal.  my biggest beef.  every time I have visited to pick up my kid during snowy seasons there has been no snow removal around the dorms.  If you are familar with Lank there are stairs leading to the entrance.  without fail these were always snow covered and icy every time I visited including the day the dorms were closing for winter break and many many parents were there picking up their kid.  I slipped on the stairs twice that day carrying stuff out.  It just galled me that no one could be bothered to clear the snow or throw some salt there when parents would be coming.

amen to that. snow removal on campus is pretty much non-existent. i thought that we might see an improvement after several students were injured in falls on the ice a couple years ago, but no such luck. it's really frustrating that it's so dangerous to simply walk around campus.

[dcvalpo]

snow removal.  my biggest beef.  every time I have visited to pick up my kid during snowy seasons there has been no snow removal around the dorms.  If you are familar with Lank there are stairs leading to the entrance.  without fail these were always snow covered and icy every time I visited including the day the dorms were closing for winter break and many many parents were there picking up their kid.  I slipped on the stairs twice that day carrying stuff out.  It just galled me that no one could be bothered to clear the snow or throw some salt there when parents would be coming.

amen to that. snow removal on campus is pretty much non-existent. i thought that we might see an improvement after several students were injured in falls on the ice a couple years ago, but no such luck. it's really frustrating that it's so dangerous to simply walk around campus.

Is there anything we can do to get this changed?  There are some pretty influential people on this board who can pull some strings and get things done.  I'd be glad to do my part!

[sectionee]

snow removal.  my biggest beef.  every time I have visited to pick up my kid during snowy seasons there has been no snow removal around the dorms.  If you are familar with Lank there are stairs leading to the entrance.  without fail these were always snow covered and icy every time I visited including the day the dorms were closing for winter break and many many parents were there picking up their kid.  I slipped on the stairs twice that day carrying stuff out.  It just galled me that no one could be bothered to clear the snow or throw some salt there when parents would be coming.

amen to that. snow removal on campus is pretty much non-existent. i thought that we might see an improvement after several students were injured in falls on the ice a couple years ago, but no such luck. it's really frustrating that it's so dangerous to simply walk around campus.

Is there anything we can do to get this changed?  There are some pretty influential people on this board who can pull some strings and get things done.  I'd be glad to do my part!

haha, people with that much influence don't waste their time on message boards!  With that said, it sounds like they could use a bit more salt around the dorm entrances.

[dcvalpo]

snow removal.  my biggest beef.  every time I have visited to pick up my kid during snowy seasons there has been no snow removal around the dorms.  If you are familar with Lank there are stairs leading to the entrance.  without fail these were always snow covered and icy every time I visited including the day the dorms were closing for winter break and many many parents were there picking up their kid.  I slipped on the stairs twice that day carrying stuff out.  It just galled me that no one could be bothered to clear the snow or throw some salt there when parents would be coming.

amen to that. snow removal on campus is pretty much non-existent. i thought that we might see an improvement after several students were injured in falls on the ice a couple years ago, but no such luck. it's really frustrating that it's so dangerous to simply walk around campus.

Is there anything we can do to get this changed?  There are some pretty influential people on this board who can pull some strings and get things done.  I'd be glad to do my part!

haha, people with that much influence don't waste their time on message boards!  With that said, it sounds like they could use a bit more salt around the dorm entrances.

Hey I resemble that remark!  But seriously, guys like rlh and possibly vu72 have some pretty serious cache and could probably get this rock salt situation resolved in no time.

[vuweathernerd]

what is this salt you speak of?