Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Student Housing Market Analysis Update #4
In 2004, Indiana University of Pennsylvania engaged the team of Brailsford & Dunlavey and WTW Architects to complete a housing master plan for the campus. The University was facing multiple challenges. First, its existing housing stock was aging and did not meet the needs of the modern student in terms of quality, amenities, and unit type variety. Second, the campus had developed its housing stock without regard to spatial relationships between buildings or a sense of connectivity from zone to zone. Third, the campus edge was ill-defined and provided few visual clues to orient the visitor to the campus and its attributes. Fourth, the University had permitted local developers to construct relatively poor quality, market-rate housing adjacent to the campus that did little to provide attractive off-campus options for University students. Lastly, the University did not want to significantly expand the quantity of beds on campus, but rather wanted to expand the quality and type, which created a premium for developable land.
B&D's market analysis included focus groups with approximately 80 participants from across the campus spectrum, as well as a Web-based survey that recorded over 2,500 respondents. B&D examined student satisfaction with the current campus environs and both the on- and off-campus housing stock. B&D also assessed both the quantity and type of beds to meet market demand. This analysis was compared with the University's stated mission objectives for the provision of new and improved housing in order to ensure that recommendations would be consistent with University values. B&D prepared a sophisticated financial model of the entire University housing system that enabled the University to analyze projected outcomes form a variety of perspectives and with a variety of financing scenarios for new and improved housing, deferred maintenance needs, and project phasing that permitted a feasible approach to development. This model was developed with the oversight of individuals within the state system and included analyses of privatization options considered for the implementation of housing.
B&D concluded that, although the campus population was projected to remain stable in the coming decade, the University had to address the market demand for housing improvements in order to remain competitive. In addition, B&D advised the University to expedite certain improvements in order to improve housing prior to the statewide drop in college-age applicants. Therefore, B&D recommended that certain improvements be implemented through a 501(c)(3) foundation while others be provided in the traditional manner. B&D's market analysis identified demand for a distinct range of unit types, and the master plan recommendations included a phased scenario that permitted each project to be developed in the most feasible manner. B&D also assisted with the conceptual development, which provided a clear plan to better define the campus through a series of campus quads that would connect the entire campus to its core.
Prior to implementation of a first phase of development, B&D was re-engaged to update the campus housing market study in order to confirm the project's viability. B&D's updated demand and supply analysis corroborated the findings of the original study. And in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the University again hired B&D to update its findings.
To date, phase 1 (746 beds), phase 2 (1,112 beds), and phase 3 (1,078 beds) have been completed. Phase 4 (596 beds) is scheduled to open in the fall of 2010. Upon completion of phase 4, all of B&D’s housing master plan recommendations will be implemented.