Following approval by the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, a major Mississippi State University project will move forward, with work potentially beginning this week.
The IHL Board approved a joint agreement between MSU and the Memphis-based Education Realty Trust (EdR). Following a feasibility study, MSU and EdR will now began development and construction of the College View project, a mixed-use development on campus combining housing for students with retail space and a daycare center for students with young children. Completion is scheduled for fall 2019.
The facility will include 656 residential beds for upperclassmen and 46,000 square feet of retail space. An outdoor entertainment area is also incorporated into the design. It will be located on the northwestern edge of campus not far from where the Aiken Village Apartments once stood.
“This is a major step forward for MSU in so many ways,” said MSU Vice President for Research and Economic Development David Shaw. “It helps us meet critical on-campus housing needs for our students, while at the same time capitalizing on a public-private partnership (P3) to create a quality experience for our students and relying on the financing and expertise of the private sector.”
Shaw said the facility’s $67 million cost will be financed and built by EdR, with no ongoing costs to the university. EdR will also manage the facility.
Shaw said College View was the first housing and residence life P3 MSU had been a part of, but said the university had been successful with P3s in the past, citing The Mill Conference Center as an example.
"In addition to providing housing for upperclassmen, it will provide sorely needed retail space for the community, and specifically adjacent to the MSU campus,” Shaw said. “The daycare space will be expanded, and provide an even higher quality space for these children and their families.”
Shaw also said the project would improve the walking infrastructure of the MSU campus.
“We are honored to be working with Mississippi State University to make College View a reality,” said EdR CEO Randy Churchey. “We have seen the way developments like College View can not only enhance
the campus but the university community at large. We’re excited to be taking the next steps toward building this community.”
Further phases of the project are possible depending on the success of the first.
“We believe that our partnership with EdR will help us meet the needs of our students and their families, and College View will also become a destination for members of the community, alumni and other visitors to Starkville and Mississippi State,” said MSU President Mark Keenum.”