Portland area college students will soon have access to more affordable housing in the Goose Hollow Towers of Southwest Portland thanks to College Housing Northwest, a local nonprofit housing developer.
The future student housing site will be called “The Amy” as a dedication to Stan Amy, a co-founder of CHNW, and will open to Portland college students in the spring of 2018.
The Amy will be the first building designed by CHNW since the 1999 development of Goose Hollow Plaza.
Students who are interested in living at The Amy are required to submit an application that requires a credit check and a proof of enrollment from either PSU, Portland Community College, or other public colleges in Oregon. Applications will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.
The Amy, which has recently replaced a 30-unit apartment building, will consist of five floors that will provide 141 fully furnished units. The future student building will consist mostly of studios, along with two 1-bedroom apartments. Each studio is 310 sq. ft. and contains one bathroom, a bike storage, a small kitchenette, a bed, and a desk. The 1-bedroom units are 600 sq. ft. CHNW has already begun hiring for Amy resident assistants to live on each floor.
As for now, pricing of the housing will be $1,150 per unit including utilities, which is 15 percent below the current market rate. The Amy’s housing cost will also provide free high-speed Wi-Fi and three common kitchens with lounges.
“The purpose of the Amy was to create more affordable housing for college students,” said David Garnand, executive director of CHNW. “It’s a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. No one else benefits from this but college students.”
The Amy will provide places to study with large study tables and a ground floor lobby with a fireplace and a movie projector. In addition, Amy residents will also be able to utilize an outdoor courtyard with a fire pit and BBQ, 230 secure bike parking spaces, and 32 secure car parking spaces.
For more information, visit theamy.chnw.org.
“As for now, pricing of the housing will be $1,150 per unit including utilities, which is 15 percent below the current market rate. The Amy’s housing cost will also provide free high-speed Wi-Fi and three common kitchens with lounges.”
College Housing NW has a severe head injury if they truly believe that $1,150 for a furnished studio is an “affordable” option. It’s quite offensive, considering that I pay $824 for a 1bed/1ba in DT Vancouver, and I’m a post-college grad making around poverty wages in this area.
If the cost of these apartments are based upon market rates and NOT on the student’s actual income or loans received, then there is NOTHING affordable about the organization nor implementation of this program. The impression this article gives is that, possibly, developers and College Housing NW are colluding to essentialize the market based on a market rate that is inherently unequal for wages gained in this area, rather than focusing the center of funding and pricing on the student’s actual economic needs.
This also seems practically an invitation for College Housing NW and PSU to artificially heighten student units to market rate simply so college incumbents can keep on requesting MASSIVE amounts of student loans from the government in the form of blank checks that are then decided by the housing authority group and the few people which control its interests.
Bottom line, this article is missing some important angles. It’s patently absurd that anyone would think $1150 is affordable for a college student, and there is no interest in this article on looking at the political/economic nuances which seems to be only further gentrifying the academic institution itself. I would see where College Housing NW gets its funding and who is calling it shots, and ask them directly why they feel that “15% below market rate” is even close to being a feasible “affordable housing” solution.