The University of Memphis is moving forward to acquire an apartment complex adjacent to the campus.
WREG-TV reports that the university's Board of Trustees has approved an acquisition deal that would enable the university to manage and eventually own the Gather on Southern apartments
The agreement, which values the property at $28 million, will go before Tennessee's State Building Commission for approval and then again to the university Board of Trustees.
The property would be bought by a third-party, and after 30 years, the university would acquire the land.
Right now, the university has a little more than 2,000 beds in its student housing system. The acquisition would add 435 more if the Gather of Southern stays the style of apartments it is now.
The university's goal is to incorporate the apartment complex into the school's student housing. President M. David Rudd says the apartment style of the Gather better suits what he sees students looking for in housing.
"Apartment-style living is preferable for students," Rudd says. "Most of what we have available is dorm-style living, and it's just not attractive to students."
Rudd says he believes students are better off in on-campus housing rather than their own apartments.
"Students that live in university property do dramatically better at the university for a lot of different reasons," Rudd says. "Their retention rates are higher. Their completion rates are higher."
