OLD DOMINION TAKES NEXT STEP IN CREATING ADDITIONAL STUDENT HOUSING
Old Dominion University has selected Ambling Companies Inc. to develop and construct about 300 units of student housing in the university's University Village redevelopment project.
The units will accommodate about 1,000 students, with the first phase of the two-phase project slated for completion in 2003.
The 450,000-square-foot project will be financed through the use of tax-exempt bonds.
"Ambling is a proven leader in the field of university housing," explained Robert L. Fenning, Old Dominion's vice president for administration and finance. "They have an impressive portfolio, but more importantly, the students who live in their properties are pleased with their 'home-away-from-home,' and that's what we want for our students."
Ambling operates residential facilities at universities across the nation including the University of Maryland, University of Delaware, Marshall University and Florida A & M University.
"We are very proud to be partnering with Old Dominion University on such a unique and exciting project," said to Greg Blais, vice president of university development for Ambling. "The multiple components of the new University Village make it a rare opportunity for all team members associated with the project. We are very grateful to ODU for selecting Ambling to be the developer of choice on this endeavor that will most certainly be a prototype for university housing nationwide."
Ambling will oversee site demolition and the construction of the apartment-style units over the next two-and-a-half years.
Old Dominion's 75-acre University Village will consist of 10 buildings plus a 50,000 square-foot retail component. This space will include a police substation, campus art gallery and state-of-the-art fitness facility. At the centerpiece of the Village is the new Constant Convocation Center, which is slated to open this fall. Other features of the Village, in addition to student housing, are a 120,000-square-foot shopping center, roughly 300,000 square feet of office/commercial space and a structured parking area.