The proposal is for Student Suites to demolish part of the 45 S. Ludlow St. Dayton Daily News complex and build an $18 million apartment complex with 50 one-bedroom and 150 two-bedroom units, hoping to open in August 2014.
Sinclair’s long-term campus master plan aims to better connect campus with the rest of downtown. It also calls for developing a Fourth Street district with retail and housing. Sinclair Vice President for Advancement Madeline Iseli said this project fits with those goals.
“More amenities for students, faculties and staff would be of great benefit to the future development of this campus,” she said.
Community members have told Sinclair they would like for students to live downtown. Ohio law, however, prohibits community colleges from owning or operating student housing. There are some exceptions, and the state recently allowed housing at Rio Grande Community College in southeast Ohio. While Sinclair students are the primary market for the proposed Ludlow Street project, the school would not run it.
Sinclair students have not led a push for housing, but the college expects that a few hundred of the 23,000 students who take classes downtown would be interested, President Steven Johnson told the Board of Trustees in November.
Dick Davis, partner at Student Suites, which has built housing at several community colleges nationwide, said that estimate might be low. Davis said he commissioned a market study last year that estimated as much as a 1,500-bed demand.
“I think they’re going to find, and I told Sinclair this, not only is this going to support Sinclair students who are there now, but there’s going to be more students become interested in Sinclair because there’s a place to live nearby,” Davis said.
Iseli said she could see that happening with students in some of Sinclair’s unique academic programs, like auto technology, which already draws students from three states. The housing also could help the college attract international students.
Sinclair students had a variety of opinions about the project. Among younger students, Marquise Crosby and Brayden Crisler said they wouldn’t be likely to live downtown, with Crisler mentioning safety concerns and Crosby saying there’s not enough activity. But Taylor Williams said she would definitely consider it.
“I live in Fairborn and it’s harder for me to get to and from, so having housing there would be really convenient,” she said.
Adult students Autum Hill and Angel Barger said if there was a more family-friendly housing option near campus for families with children, they would be interested in that.
Asked if he worried about dropping 350 young students into a single site downtown, Davis was realistic.
“I think you would be a fool if you didn’t recognize there are potential problems that could evolve, but we’re having an experienced management team come in that’s used to student housing,” he said.
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