A Board of Higher Education committee has approved the plan for construction of a student apartment housing complex on the Bismarck State College campus.
BSC would enter a lease and development agreement with Mystic, LLC.
BSC Executive Vice-President Rebecca Collins presented the proposal to the Board’s Budget and Finance Committee. She said the enrollment is growing, and every spring, there is a waiting list for
campus housing.
"We have over 900 North Dakota college-age freshmen, with only 500 beds on campus," Collins told the Committee. "THe local, market for apartment vacancies is about 3.9 percent, with only 391 apartments available for all the Bismarck area."
Collins said this shortage will limit BSC's ability to grow and develop the workforce. She said the new housing facility would have 350 units, plus room for an Italian pizza restaurant. She said the LLC
will build it, but have no staff on site after it is built. She also said it’s a 30-year lease, and at the end of the lease, BSC can buy the building for $1.00.
Collins also said the Legislature frowns on funding residence halls. And she said bonding is not an option.
"It became a really good option for us to go down this pathway, especially when they (Mystic LLC) doesn't have a profit motive," Collins said. "The others who did apply to do this had a profit motive."
The facility will also have underground parking. And Collins said that’s because parking on campus is also at a premium.
The committee voted unanimously to recommend the proposal to the full Board of Higher Education. The full board meets Sept. 23rd.
