TU: FSCJ’s new downtown housing is not your typical dorm

Link to article: http://www.jacksonville.com/news/20180910/fscjs-new-downtown-housing-is-not-your-typical-dorm

FSCJ’s new downtown housing is not your typical dorm

Downtown will make a breakthrough this week when it becomes a home address for college students.

Florida State College at Jacksonville will start moving students into 20West Housing, located within a newly renovated historic building whose rooms more closely resemble airy apartments than dreary dorms.

Instead of cinderblock walls and bunk beds, the 58 units operated by FSCJ in the six-story building at 20 W. Adams St. have arching windows and red brick walls facing the interiors. FSCJ is betting that vibe will appeal to students looking for an urban experience as part of their college education.

“The historic nature of the building really comes out,” FSCJ spokeswoman Jill Johnson said Monday when the college conducted a grand opening ceremony. “It gives you a feel that you’re in a big-city downtown, so it’s a really neat environment that our students are able to participate in.”

The student housing is a joint venture of the building’s owner and FSCJ, with up to $1.2 million in financial assistance from the city and the Downtown Investment Authority. It will expand the presence of higher education in the heart of downtown.

Jacksonville University already offers graduate-level courses at a downtown satellite. The University of North Florida plans to open an entrepreneurial center in the historic Barnett Bank building when restoration of that structure is complete, so all three institutions will be in downtown within a few blocks of each other.

Johnson said 19 students will be moving in this week, and more than 100 students have applied to occupy the other units.

For the fall term, the cost is $3,375 per student for an apartment with a shared bathroom, and $3,600 for an apartment with a private bathroom.

Each room comes equipped with a kitchen that includes a full-size refrigerator, stove and microwave. The student housing occupies the second through sixth floors of the building. The bottom floor is filled by 20West Cafe, which is operated by FSCJ students in the college’s culinary arts program.

Former NFL player Eugene Profit owns the century-old building known as the Lerner Building and did the multimillion-dollar renovation. In 2015, the Downtown Investment Authority agreed to provide a $600,000 historic preservation grant to help with the cost of restoring the vacant structure.

That incentive package also would let FSCJ get loans for up to $60,000 per year over a 10-year period, adding up to as much as $600,000 in loans if the college needs to cover financial shortfalls because revenue from student housing isn’t enough to cover its lease payments to Profit.

Johnson said based on the interest shown by FSCJ students, the college doesn’t expect to need any financial help from the city.

“We have over 100 people really interested in moving in, so I don’t see us having a problem meeting any of the obligations we have,” she said.

She said the school has no immediate plans to expand housing into other downtown buildings.

“Obviously, we want to give this a go,” she said, “and we’re excited about what the future holds.”

David Bauerlein (904) 359-4581