Kennesaw State University Students unable to secure on-campus housing in dorms will soon have another option: Communal cottages.
A private developer won approval from the Cobb Board of Commissioners Tuesday to build 32 student cottages on Shiloh Road near the school. The cottages will be comprised of four or five bedrooms and a common area. The developer also plans to build a clubhouse and pool on the property.
Garvis Sams, the attorney representing Stratus Property Group, LLC, said his client has no formal relationship with the university, but hopes to coordinate with the school to arrange bus service.
Sams said only 3,000 of KSU's 33,000 students have on-campus housing, creating a "huge demand" for student accommodation, a demand private developers are keen to meet. Stratus has built several such projects next to the University of Georgia in Athens, he said.
“It’s becoming more common when universities, though ever-expanding, don’t have the housing component that keeps up with their expansion,” Sams said. “You’re seeing a lot more [private student housing] and you’re probably going to continue to as long as that demographic is not totally satisfied.”
The 4.3-acre property was rezoned from general commercial to allow somewhat dense residential. While the county cannot prevent the developer from building another type of housing, Sams called that scenario unlikely.
Sams said his client hopes to complete the first half of the cottages by spring semester, with a minimum lease of one year and a parental consent requirement. He said individual rents will be about $625 a month.
