By Yijing Shen, Distribution Manager
West Liberty University will open two new apartments to students in the fall of 2019 across the road on Van Meter Way, West Liberty, W.Va. The new apartment concept was introduced for the first time during the WLU Board of Governors meeting on Oct. 3 in order to solve the need of more campus housing.
The new housing options will be built in a U shape with a pavilion in the middle. The first two apartments that will be available to students next year will be located at 445 Van Meter Way, which is under construction.
The third apartment will be built where the houses commonly known as “the baseball house” and “the yellow house” are located. However, they will not be demolished until May 2019.
The new apartments are being built by R&D Holdings, the company who built University Place Apartments I and II.
The company will build a parking lot at the back of the new apartments. The road that goes to Pickles, the restaurant located at 269 Roadworthy Drive, will be the entrance to the parking lot. The only parking right across the street in the front will be the handicap parking.
Considering the students’ safety issue, WLU and R&D Holdings decided to put a walkway on campus, so that students can walk on the sidewalk all the way down to the restaurant instead of walking down the street.
“We need more housing,” said Dr. Stephen Greiner, WLU president. “We have more students and more demands for single units on campus. That’s why we are having more apartments to give students more options.”
Facing the increasing enrollment, WLU offered a new apartment complex this fall located at the intersection of Route 88 and Short Creek Road called Topper Towers. There are currently 48 students living in the apartment complex.
“One of our biggest needs is to have more space, especially now we have more graduate students on campus, who prefer to have apartments rather than the residence halls,” said Greiner.
For more information, please check for updates on the WLU Housing & Student Life website.
Photo of design in Dr. Greiner’s office taken by Yijing Shen
