Jon Carey
Equinox Staff
As students progress through their collegiate careers they face the difficulties of weighing their options of living either on or off campus. With a number of landlords surrounding the Keene area offering a diverse selection of off-campus housing, it’s hard for students to determine which apartment ensures the best living conditions.
Keene State College’s new housing standard requires first-year and sophomore students to live on campus unless granted an exception by the Director of Residential Life. Exceptions will be considered for students who live within 30 miles of the Keene State College campus and are living with a parent or guardian. The on-campus dorm costs vary from $6,000 per year for Randall Hall triples, to just over $8,000 in Pondside II apartments. All utilities are paid for.
This year new apartment complexes have been built, some still in the process of being built, in order to expand the selection that students have when looking for a place to live off campus.
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“When my roommates and I were sophomores, the housing lottery stuck us with high numbers and by the time we went to sign up all the housing options were gone, so we started looking for houses off campus because we didn’t want to get split up,” senior Lucas Fiehler said. “The process of looking for houses off campus was very trying because we wanted the best possible living conditions for a reasonable price and a lease that met our specific needs as college students.”
Fiehler and his roommates chose the off-campus housing company, Keene Cribs, and from how Fiehler described his living habits over the two years of living there, the conditions were far from satisfactory.
“The landlord did a very nice job in presenting the house to us when we were first interested but as soon as we moved in the problems within the house just started adding up and he would leave us in the dark trying to figure out solutions,” Fiehler said.
Fiehler described f living in the house as unsafe.
“Lights would break for no reason, faulty wall plaster would start to decay, and the front door did not fit the door frame so heating the house was impossible,” Fiehler said.
Mitchell Greenwald, owner of Greenwald Realty Associates, said that starting June 1, only properties that pass the Voluntary Minimum Housing and Safety Standards Inspection Checklist can be listed on the Residential Life website.
“Having this checklist puts pressure on other landlords that don’t have the appropriate living standards within their houses or apartments,” Greenwald said.
In retrospect to Keene Cribs, Greenwald said that if you’re paying upwards of over $600 for rent then a bulk of the utilities should be paid by the landlord, or be included within the rent.
“The living conditions should reflect on the amount students are paying for these houses or apartments,” Greenwald said. “Students should be expected to pay above $700 if the living conditions are below satisfactory, and it’s clear that students are paying more for damaged properties.”
The Davis Street Apartments and Arcadia Hall have upped the anti for off-campus. With updated safety standards and approved housing inspections, landlords say students are responding positively to their new living spaces.
“From the first day we opened all of my tenants were all pleased with the room set ups, the utilities we provided, and the overall layout of the building,” Matt Lilly, owner of Davis Street Apartment, said. “We make sure someone is present inside the building every day so our tenants can communicate with us if there is ever a problem.”
Davis Street Apartments, which opened last August, comes equipped with the choice of two, three, or four bedrooms, fully functional stove and refrigerator, kitchen area, and at least one bathroom. Utilities are all included; heat, electricity, internet and cable, and hot water. The building also includes a pay per use laundry room.
“I haven’t heard any complaints about students paying for laundry. Everyone is respectful of the building and the rooms they live in,” Lilly said. “We feel if you communicate and have a good relationship with your tenants, not putting all the responsibilities on them, then the outcome is less destructive than if it was the other way around.”
Heather Trombly, property manager of Arcadia Hall, agrees that new living standards should be processed and approved so students aren’t gypped out of their collegiate experience.
“I think it’s great that new off-campus facilities such as Arcadia Hall are forcing other landlords to update their facilities,” Trombly said. “Another reason is that other landlords know once students move into a newer facility and see all they can get for the same price they’re paying there, the stakes are raised. It is 2012 and change is on its way and should be welcomed,” Trombly said.
At Arcadia Hall, the price per bedroom is $849 and every apartment includes heat, hot water, electricity, cable and Wi-Fi. They also include furniture; the bedroom has a full-size bed, dresser, desk with chair, built-in bookshelf and flat screen TV. The living room has a couch, love seat, coffee table, TV stand, and flat screen TV.
“The student gives one check a month with no worries; the less they worry about being able to afford cable or internet and whether or not everything got paid on time or at all, the more time they’ll have to do their school work and hang out with friends,” Trombly said.
“At Arcadia Hall, we want them to have something that is comfortable, convenient, and cost-effective. We really had the students in mind with this building and as far as our price compared to other landlords goes, you get what you pay for,” Trombly said.
“We preach communication as the key to a successful business; if we make ourselves available to all our tenants and take care of any problems they might have, there will be a positive relationship and it will reflect on the condition of the living space,” Greenwald said.
Jon Carey can be contacted at
jcarey@keene-equinox.com