Forget the days of spartan living on campus.

Student housing rocks.

Instead of flats of boxy-rooms with a twin-bed and cramped desk, fully-furnished, high-end, high-rise condos equipped with full kitchens and other amenities will welcome more and more college kids back to campus this fall.

Colleges and universities that want to compete for the best students realize they need to put more than just a roof over the heads of kids who live where they learn. On campuses everywhere, student "villages" are popping up with accommodations that come with central air, bedrooms big enough for a king-sized mattresses and retail outlets on the lower floors -- not unlike what's being constructed back home.

"Keeping in line with the fundamentals of private real estate development, educational institutions are now embracing the concept of amenity offerings," says Doug McCoach, vice president of Baltimore, MD-based RTKL, a leading architecture and design firm.

"Colleges and universities are creating more that just a place to sleep; they are developing destinations that will enrich students' educational and social experiences. Mixing uses on campus has become as popular -- and profitable -- as it has in the 'outside' world of real estate," he added.

• At San Jose State University, in Silicon Valley, the game room and big screen high-definition TV on the wall of the lounge were instant hits at the new $244 million Campus Village, three high-rises constructed around a courtyard to house 1,200 students.

  The dorms are equipped with full kitchens, basic cable, local telephone service and DSL Internet service, all of which is covered by the rent -- $685 to $815 -- a real steal in one of the nation's most expensive housing market where off-campus market rents average twice as much $1,200.

  From the higher floors, the views of the downtown area's building renaissance and foothills in the distance are better than the mayor's view from the new city hall just blocks away.

• In Easton, PA, Lafayette College is still building Sullivan Road Residences with private kitchenettes, bathrooms and separate living areas. Faculty apartments, a cafe, and a central terrace with stadium-style seating are all nearby.

  Some things never change on campus -- one part of the development is devoted to "group living" housing, where communal structures satisfy a cultural subset of the student body.

  "Students need to feel engaged in their residential environment; it's part of what attracts students to a university and keeps them happy. Happy students tend to make for happy parents, who are typically the ones paying the bills," says McCoach

• This fall, California State University-Channel Islands, offshore from Los Angeles, is offering students a room at the "Anacapa Village," an apartment-style community constructed as an extension of the main campus, but functioning as its own residential community.

  The Spanish Mission-style architectural signature of the university's original design is found in the public plaza, market, cafe, student bookstore and 48 upper-level faculty apartments where professors keep a bird's eye view of the happenings.

• In Baltimore, MD, the Maryland Institute College of Art's new dormitories were constructed around a central open-air courtyard and include a street-level cafe, a black-box theater, and a tower of dedicated wet and dry art studio space.

  One- and two-level suites offer kitchens and sitting areas. The housing is adjacent to the campus's dining facilities, fitness facilities, entertainment viewing areas, piano/music rooms, gallery space and other facilities.

• The swanky Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising offers four high-rise condo villages located in Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego and come with fully furnished accommodations, swimming pools, spas, saunas, gyms, jogging paths, tennis, volleyball courts and basketball courts.

Published: August 31, 2005

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A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.