Second Housing Option

The ensemble of buildings populating the Denver skyline will soon feature a new addition designed exclusively for housing Auraria Campus students. Campus Village Apartments - which is currently undergoing construction at the corner of 4th and Walnut Street - is due for completion by mid-July of 2006, and will endow its student-residents with essential household amenities and an array of academic and socially-oriented features.

Over half (123) Campus Village's 230 units will consist of two-bedroom units, with the remaining spaces being comprised of 35 studio apartments, four single-unit apartments, and 44 four-bedroom apartments. Most units will be equipped with full kitchens and appliance packages, in addition to central heating and air. The building will consist of four main wings that will enclose a central courtyard and will total approximately 250,000 square feet. Campus Village services will cater to the resident with its roster of services including on-site maintenance, resident assistants, designated parking areas, mail distribution, recycling services and garbage removal - all geared toward simplifying student life.

A frequently lamented pitfall of attending a commuter college can be the profound lack of camaraderie on campus, that ubiquitous sense of community easily generated by traditional campuses. In an effort to cultivate unity on the premises, Campus Village will feature a community center, study rooms, on-site food service, resident assistants, student-life programs, a fitness center and gaming facilities. "We'll also have a substantial amount of academic and social activities planned to stimulate an exciting social environment," said David Chadwick, manager of Campus Village Apartments, LLC. Such components will provide Auraria student-residents with a unique and unprecedented opportunity to simulate a traditional campus lifestyle within downtown Denver.

Residency in Campus Village will be mandatory for two particular sects of Auraria students: Full-time University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center freshmen students living outside of a 50-mile radius from the Auraria Campus, and all incoming international students attending UCDHSC. Both groups will be required to live in Campus Village for their first academic year. Residency will also be open to all students, faculty and staff enrolled or employed by any of Auraria's three academic institutions. Prospective residents must be willing to commit to either a 10 or 12 month lease agreement.

"I wish I had that option when I first began coming here," said junior Elizabeth St. John, who, during her freshman year, commuted 35 miles to campus from southern Littleton. "I think I would like living there; it sounds like it has everything a student could want, plus I'd save money on gas because it's extremely close to campus," she added.

Like its student-housing counterpart, The Regency (39th and Elati), Campus Village boasts an assortment of student-friendly elements; however, the location may represent the building's most revered attribute. Situated only three blocks from campus, residents can substantially minimize their commute by walking to class at their leisure, instead of imbedding steaming rubber into the pavement for the sake of punctuality.

"Being able to walk from home to class will represent another great advantage to living at Campus Village," said Jenn Haight, Leasing and Marketing director of Campus Village Apartments. "The minimized commute will be a key advantage our residents will have over those living at the Regency and elsewhere."

A model apartment will be showcased by the CU-Denver Leasing Company in its office - Tivoli Rm. 124 - in early October. Leasing rates have yet to be determined, and applications will be disseminated at a later date.