By Maggie Thomas, For The Miami Student
More student housing is on the way after the plan to build a new housing development was approved by the Oxford City Council.
Trinitas Ventures, based in Indiana, will begin building "Annex" next month. This new student housing community will be located less than a mile from campus, across from the Level 27 apartment complex.
Alie Hrabe, vice president of marketing and leasing for Trinitas Ventures, said the construction will begin in April, and the apartments will be available for lease starting in fall 2017.
"We recently opened leasing for August 2017 and the interest in the community has confirmed what years of research indicated, which is that students want cottage-style living that provides both luxury and convenience," Hrabe said.
Overall, Annex will hold 202 units, or 643 beds. The community will have cottage-style units, single-family homes and townhomes. The prices vary with each unit, but range from $609 to $925 per month.
The community will offer several services that all residents can access, including a resort-style pool and sundeck, private study areas and a private shuttle to campus. Other ammenities include basketball and sand volleyball courts, a 24-hour fitness facility, spinning and yoga classes and outdoor Cross Fit. The property will also have biking and walking trails.
Each individual apartment will include amenities such as 48-inch flat screen TVs, walk-in closets, free Wi-Fi and cable connections and private bedrooms. The apartments will be fully furnished with a contemporary style. All units will have a washer and dryer, although not all will be full-sized.
Business fraternity Pi Sigma Epsilon (PSE) will work with Trinitas to promote the new housing community. A team of students from PSE will help Trinitas identify the most effective ways they can get involved on campus and how they compare to their competition.
"Essentially, what they want us to do is market their new housing complex and and what it offers to students, specifically freshmen and sophomores who are looking to sign leases," said junior Chris Waflart, vice president of marketing for PSE.
Junior Reagan Bennett thinks the new housing community is a good idea and will benefit Miami students who are struggling to find off-campus housing.
"I think we definitely need more houses," Bennett said. "People don't want to be stuck with the ones so far away, but the close ones are already taken."
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The purpose of Annex is to serve as a unique community for Miami students.
"At Annex, we understand that a student's living environment has a key impact on learning and personal development, and therefore, we have strived to provide a dynamic and positive community that enriches the lives of all of our residents," Hrabe said. "Here, our ultimate goal is to ensure that each student is more successful by having lived at our community."
Trinitas Ventures had the idea to build a student housing community for years, but it was not approved by the Oxford City Council until last fall.
"Trinitas looked at Miami University for several years and determined that there was a need for modern living among the target demographic in the community," Hrabe said. "With that in mind, we designed a product to meet what we believe is a market demand for fully amenitized cottage, home and townhomes."