NTCC moving forward with new student housing project

The Northeast Texas Community College Board of Trustees held a special meeting Tuesday night to discuss and approve moving forward with a new campus housing project.

The board received the results of a recently conducted survey which determined there is sufficient demand to add student housing for an additional 100+ students on the NTCC campus. Servitas, a firm specializing in campus residential facilities, recently conducted the survey.

NTCC is pursuing a partnership where outside investors take on a longterm lease of college property and finance and build the new housing facility. The project would cost nothing to local taxpayers and there is no financial liability to the college. This approach, known as a “public-private partnership” would seek USDA backing to lower the finance costs, thus keeping the cost of housing as low as possible.

“Servitas has successfully implemented this model at numerous universities and colleges, including several projects in Texas. In recent years, demand for student housing at NTCC has exceeded availability, so we are seeking a way to address this need. We hope to provide our students with a very attractive option for campus housing without obligating the college to additional debt,” Dr. Brad Johnson, NTCC President, said.

At the meeting, the board authorized the administration to finalize the contract to conduct a more in-depth feasibility study. The new housing could be open as soon as Fall 2018.

The housing facility could include around 120 beds of modern apartment- style housing comparable to that at major universities. NTCC would manage the facility, so the policies and procedures for residents would be the same as those in the other two college-owned units.

“As we learned with the construction of our Student Housing East facility in 2012, there is a very real demand for high-end campus housing. Students are coming from increasing distances for the low-cost, high quality education NTCC offers. If we are going to serve them, we need more beds on campus.” Johnson said.

Johnson explained that the college will not receive revenue directly from the housing project, but will benefit from the additional enrollments that come from adding 100+ students.

“This really is a win-win situation for the investors, the college and our students. Having more students living on campus not only increases enrollment, but it also enhances the unique NTCC Experience that we are working to cultivate. We are very excited about the possibility of moving forward with this project,” Johnson said.