UConn Avery Point sees growing need for housing

Groton ― Evan Childs, the student body president at the University of Connecticut Avery Point, has many friends commuting to the regional campus from far away who could benefit from the school’s plan to explore housing options on campus.

One friend finds it less expensive to drive an hour and a half to campus than to try to get an apartment in the area, Childs said.

The students are facing competition from Electric Boat and Pfizer employees for apartments close to the campus located in the City of Groton, said Childs.

Childs, a junior studying marine science who lives in Waterford where he grew up, said he is excited that the university is exploring student housing for the Avery Point campus.

The university recently issued a “Request for Expressions of Interest“ to ask developers for ideas about how to build student housing to accommodate between 150 and 250 students at the Avery Point campus.

Childs said such housing would draw more students from other states and increase the student population.

Annemarie Seifert, campus dean and chief administrative officer at UConn Avery Point, agreed students are finding it more and more difficult to find apartments and other types of housing close to campus.

As the university continues to face that barrier and wants students to be in a position to be successful, university officials knew the next step was to seek student housing for the regional campus, said Seifert.

The university gave developers an Aug. 8 deadline to share ideas for a residence hall that would be ready for August 2025, 2026 or 2027. The goal is for the developer to build student housing, at no capital cost to the university, that would be operated “at break-even cost” to the university, according to the document.

To make building a residence hall more financially viable to potential developers, the university also is offering acreage that could be developed for commercial use, Seifert said.

Seifert said the university has identified a roughly 1-acre parcel of land, between the student center and athletic center, for a residence hall, as well as a 2.7-acre site and a 3.5-acre site on Shennecossett Road for potential commercial development.

Developers have the option to propose, in addition to student housing, a hotel, conference center, market-rate or affordable apartments, or a commercial or retail development approved by the university, according to the document.

“We’re excited to see what folks can come up with,” said Seifert. She explained that it’s an open-ended process in which the university is looking to hear ideas from developers and the community’s perspectives.

Seifert said the university hears from prospective students and families, in addition to current students, that they want housing on campus.

She said some Avery Point students face long commutes, while juggling school and multiple jobs.

She said on-campus housing would not only draw more students to campus, but also provide a holistic living-learning experience. When students don’t have to rush home, they have more opportunities to take advantage of jobs available on campus, or closer to campus, and participate in campus activities.

Seifert said campus enrollment, as of last fall, was 531 students in total, with 464 undergraduate students, 57 graduate students and 10 non-degree students. The student body is 57% male and 43% female. About 40% of the student body is first-generation students and 32% students of color.

She said 81% of undergraduate students receive financial aid, a high number that shows how valuable a regional campus is to this part of the state.

Seifert said the plan to pursue housing is connected to the university’s overall strategic plan that includes investing in the Avery Point campus and expanding academic programs there. The university is looking at expanding psychology, environmental science, engineering, and business offerings.

“I think Avery Point is ready for it,” she said. “We have dynamic faculty and staff, we really have an amazing student community, and then, of course, we’re so fortunate to be on these beautiful 72 acres right on Long Island Sound.”

k.drelich@theday.com