UVa has finally built a new dorm, the first of seven long-promised new ones, Katie Bo writes in today’s Cavalier Daily. The university has had a housing shortage for the last half decade, pushing students out to rent houses, which drives up the cost of housing in Charlottesville. The Kellogg dorm has such new-fangled technology as air conditioning, elevators, and the internets. It’s a start, but it’s not like others are following close on its heels: the plans for the next one won’t even be finished until next year.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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I don’t think there’s a shortage of University housing. The University has long housed ALL of is first-year students; this new dorm allows for growth in the entering class, and is the first in a series of replacement dorms along Alderman Road.
After first year is when you start having students fan out into the Charlottesville community, and that’s when it starts getting complicated. Beginning in their second year, students have an option of living on or off Grounds. Frankly, many are eager to live on their own, out from under the University’s thumb. There are always a few vacancies in the University’s upper-class housing. Thus, the University feels no need to try to build new upper-class dorms, which they fear will leave other, older rooms empty.
Actually, even the BOV says there’s a housing shortage, as I wrote in 2004:
The problem got so bad that a year later UVa bought several apartment buildings to house students:
While you’re right that UVa houses all first-years, it’s the university’s stated plan to provide housing for all first and second years. Since the university isn’t doing that, and is building new structures to accommodate them, we can see that there is quite clearly a shortage of university housing. (Or at least that UVa believes that there is.)
For the time being, can you blame students for getting off-grounds as quick as they can? I’ve lived in a dorm for Young Writers Workshop. Those things are old and funky. Building new dorms will go a long way towards keeping students on grounds.
Plus, like the airlines,they overbook the rooms for the normal attrition that can go with starting school. JMU has what they call Temp triples in which they jam three students in a double room until space opens up from the homesick, kciked out etc.