Central State to build new $24-million student apartments

A private company will build and own a new residence hall for Central State University, the college announced today.

Ohio-based University Housing Solutions will build the new $24-million apartment-style hall for CSU. The company will then lease the facility back to Central State to use, according to the school.

The apartment-style residence hall will open in August 2019 and the school will not pay anything to build the facility, said CSU spokeswoman Edwina Blackwell Clark.

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The new hall will have 250 beds and will offer students the option of one bedroom, two bedroom and four bedroom apartments. It will be located behind the school’s football stadium and will become Central State’s largest residence hall on campus, according to the school.

The building will also a café where food and drinks will be sold and a new health and wellness center which will include two classrooms for the university’s exercise science program. A plaza and outdoor activity space are also included in the plans for the facility, according to CSU.

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“Our campus is growing and we are glad to make this investment for our students so that students can have different living options that keep them connected to the campus and other campus amenities, said Curtis Pettis, CSU vice president for administration and finance.

Around 70 percent of those enrolled at Central State —1,221 students— live on campus and the school hasn’t built a new residence hall since it constructed Fox Hall and the Harry Johns Living Learning Center in 2001. University Housing Solutions, which is based in Powell, built both of CSU’s most recent housing facilities.

A groundbreaking ceremony for the facility is scheduled for around 2 p.m. April 27 on campus. The new dorm announcement comes a little more than a year after Central State was removed from state fiscal watch.

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