Two-minute impact
Per a 2018 Campus Master Plan update, the school would have needed to add over 1,300 new beds for a student population of 35,000, which is a goal for the 2025 academic year. The plan also included 620 beds that would need to be replaced because of the demolition and reconstruction of inventory from the first three phases of student apartments on campus.
Calvin Jamison, vice president of facilities and economic development, said the goal would be to have 10,000 units on or near campus to support growth aspirations for the school’s student body that are planned around 2025. The existing inventory is about 8,200 units as the student population grows from 31,750 as of last fall.
Daniel Yahalom, president of Comets for Better Transit at the university, said there is a shortage of about 2,000 beds relative to the demand for campus housing, not accounting for students unable to get housing at nearby developments, such as Northside.
“The need for student housing ... is very, very dire—much more dire than most onlookers realize,” Yahalom said.
Dig deeper
During the Sept. 11 meeting, a zoning change for Points at Waterview, a mixed-use development with about 3,000 market-rate apartments near campus, was approved by Richardson City Council. Jamison said the university has worked with developer Wolverine Interests to to master plan the entire 36-acre development.
Some students have also lived at Northside, which offers three- and four-bedroom apartments that can be more appealing for students to rent.
However, with the connectivity of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Silver Line, which is expected to start service by mid-2026, Yahalom said he thinks it will be easier for some students to live elsewhere and commute to campus.
Yahalom said he would also appreciate more from the university in terms of actual results delivered, not just a master plan identifying a need.
“It's been five years, and to my knowledge, all that's [been] done with those promises and new housing is just a single report [that] doesn't make any preliminary research and construction or anything like that,” Yahalom said.
What’s next?
Jamison said the future planning for UT Dallas expands beyond the need for housing, including more campus eateries and facilities.
“We think that with [the increased] population, we're anticipating that the key is going to be having the infrastructure of classrooms, eateries, housing, as well as complimentary green space is going to be critical to where we ultimately go,” Jamison said.
Editors note: This article has been updated to clarify quotes made by Calvin Jamison, vice president of facilities and economic development at UT Dallas.
