FSU To Explore Off-Campus Housing Options
Framingham State University's new $47 million, 400-bed residence hall is set to open this week, just in time for the start of the new school year.
With the new dorm coming online, officials at FSU expect a 14 percent increase in the number of students living on campus and a subsequent 8 percent decrease in students commuting to the school, according to Dale Hamel, the school's senior vice president.
As the school's overall enrollment increases - it's up about 4 percent this year compared to previous years when it only rose about 2 percent - Hamel said the school expects to update its capital plan to evaluate options for housing more students.
That, he said, could include potential off-campus housing options being offered by the school.
Planning Process
The construction of the school's newest dormitory is almost fully complete. Towering above Route 9 in Framingham, the new dorm, which was built by Milford's Consigli Construction, is specifically targeted for upperclassmen, according to Hamel.
The project came in under budget because of a favorable bidding environment for construction projects coupled with a strong bond rating from the Massachusetts State College Building Authority.
But, despite the university adding 400 new beds, Hamel said there is still a student housing crunch on campus.
A strong demand for dorm rooms has forced university officials to house students at the local Sheraton Hotel in Framingham, which Hamel said the school has been doing for the past few years.
Officials hope to have some longer-term solutions soon, however.
Hamel said the Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management (DCAM), which manages state-owned facilities, has agreed to update the school's 2007 capital plan to incorporate the growing desire of students to live on or near campus.
Because the campus has nearly reached capacity, Hamel said officials updating the capital plan will likely consider off-campus options in addition to student housing solutions within FSU's current footprint.
School officials have explored off-campus housing options before.
Last year, for example, the school teamed with the Massachusetts International Academy in Marlborough and allowed some students to stay at the former conference center owned by Verizon. The conference center has since been converted into an American-immersion school for Chinese students. But Hamel said despite the affordability of the site compared to on-campus options at FSU, students did not seem interested in the offering, likely because it is too far away from the FSU campus.
With that in mind, school officials and DCAM will likely explore potential off-site options near campus.
Hamel expects the DCAM capital plan review to begin in earnest this fall and be completed by the end of the year.
DCAM spokesperson Alex Zaroulis said officials with the state organization do plan to work on an update to the capital plan, but she did not know exactly when that would take place. She said the state's board of higher education, in addition to the state's office of administration and finance would also be involved in updating the plan.
Meanwhile, the new residence hall isn't the only new construction on the FSU campus.
Officials are also in the midst of a three-year, $64 million expansion and renovation of the school's science center. The first phase, completed this summer, involved installation of a new heating and ventilation system. In two years, officials plan to build an addition to the Hemenway Hall science center.
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