Page 18 - College Planning & Management, April 2017

Table 1
General Maintenance Mechanical/Electrical System Technology/Networking Upgrades Furniture and Fixtures
Carpeting and Flooring Security and Life-Safety
0% 10% 20%
30% 40%
50% 60%
70% 80%
90% 100%
housing,” he confirms. “As states like Georgia adopt and deploy P3 delivery at a system-wide level it will inevitably increase the amount of P3 projects.”
Maintaining What’s in Place
Where new facilities are not in progress, the looming specter of deferred maintenance, along with routine maintenance, renova- tions and upgrades are keeping housing administrators busy. In 2016, 51 percent of survey respondents indicated that they had renovations in progress, while 17 percent had renovations on
hold due to budget constraints. Last year, just about one-third of respondents had no major renovations planned.
In 2017, the percentage who responded that they currently have renovations underway dropped to 44 percent. The number with proj- ects on hold due to budget constraints rose just one point, to 18 per- cent, while 38 percent have no major renovations/upgrades planned.
That number of facilities being renovated rather than being built from scratch is confirmed Gatewood. When asked if his firm is seeing
more new construction or renovation of existing building stock, he says, “We have seen a fairly equal split between new and renovated facilities. Many institutions are conducting housing master plans
in order to evaluate renovation and new construction scenarios. Strategic decision making is critical as construction costs continue to increase and schools try to keep on campus housing affordable.”
Table 1 indicates the types of renovations or upgrades that are underway or planned for the next three to five years. A full 96 per- cent of respondents indicate that general maintenance, painting and repair are on the agenda. That is comparable to last year, when 94 percent had general maintenance tasks underway. Seventy percent of respondents say carpeting and flooring replacement
are necessary or in the works, a drop from last year’s 84 percent, and almost 72 percent are planning or are undertaking furniture and fixtures replacement (last year it was 75 percent). The general consensus is that students are often hard on housing; keeping up appearances with general/routine maintenance of walls, floors, furniture and fixtures is a vital minimum to keep residence hall spaces functional and appealing to new and returning occupants.
What’s in a Residence Hall? What Should Be?
As noted, it seems that many students (and their parents) expect a “home away from home” experience in campus living, or even “resort living away from home.” With that said, there is no ideal, “one size fits all” cookie-cutter format for a residence hall. There are, however, common and/or popular amenities that are included or desired across the board.
In 2016, 93 percent of respondents indicated that their residence hall spaces included central laundry facilities. This year, that num- ber rose to 98 percent. In 2016, 49 percent indicated the existence of full-service central kitchens; this year that dropped slightly to 44 percent. In the spirit of students wanting their own version of amenities, in 2016, survey respondents indicated that 29 percent of residence hall spaces do or will include kitchens in rooms. In 2017, that number rose sharply, to 47 percent.
Dining halls within a residential facility? In 2016, 37 percent responded in the affirmative. That number dropped slightly this year, to 35 percent. Perhaps the increase of private kitchen facilities (we will assume within suites of rooms) is eliminating the need for central dining facilities.
Despite our survey respondents’ indication of a shift towards kitchens within rooms, Mackey Mitchell’s Gatewood is still seeing the central kitchen as a desired element. It seems a “foodie” culture is taking root.
“Today’s students are much more engaged and interested in food than previous generations have been,” he says. “Couple that with increasing international student enrollment and a community
18
HOUSING SURVEY COLLEGE PLANNING & MANAGEMENT 4 2017
WEBCPM.COM