Wichita State University in Wichita, Kan., says that it is closing its Fairmount Towers residence hall in mid-August.
The university says in a news release that about 300 students who had reserved space in Fairmount Towers for 2017-18 will be housed in a new apartment complex, The Flats at WSU, at no additional cost to those students.
Officials say the decision to close the facility is in line with housing consultants’ recommendations and the university’s five-year capital budget plan.
Fairmount had space for 600 students and was one of the university's oldest residence halls, the university says. It was built in 1964 as a private facility, and Wichita State acquired it in 1977.
“Fairmount Towers, constructed 53 years ago as a private dormitory, has reached the end of its useful life," says Eric King, associate vice president for facilities. "The building will be taken out of service and eventually demolished.”
A 2015 report from Brailsford & Dunlavey on the student housing market recommended phasing out Fairmount Towers and cited four main factors:
- Operational inefficiencies
- Limited student demand
- Isolated location outside the core of campus
- Facility condition concerns
Tony Vizzini, university provost and senior vice president, says Wichita State has been working for five years to decommission outdated housing and create a more residential, 24-hour campus.
The Flats, the new housing development, has apartment configurations ranging from one to four bedrooms. All the apartments are fully furnished.
