The Vandal Village living complex–part of the university’s housing initiative–has welcomed its first group of residents, but remains partially under construction.
A project that has been in the works for years, in total it will provide 91 family units, 72 beds for graduate students and 142 beds for undergraduate students when completed. When completed, it will provide housing for approximately 450 residents. This has resulted in a net gain of approximately 150 spaces from the former apartments that stood off of W. Sweet Ave..
After tearing down the former apartment units, ground was first broken in spring 2025. Initially, all of the housing units were set to open just over a month ago on Aug. 1, but due to minor setbacks, parts of the Vandal Village have yet to be completed.
According to Director of Housing and Residence Life Corey Ray, the setbacks occurred due to the everchanging nature of technology, construction and the economy.
While all of the undergrad and graduate housing units are finished, what remains under construction are four of the eight family townhouse complexes as well as “The Lodge,” which will be the residential common space meant for recreational activities and amenities.
Ray and Nicolas Cress, Assistant Director of Marketing and Student Outreach, gave an update that the entire complex should be finalized by the end of the month.
Vandal Village, the initial idea of President Scott Green, is something that “impacts not just housing, but the larger campus as a whole,” said Ray.
In an effort to give students more on-campus housing opportunities, Ray and Cress noted part of the appeal of undertaking this housing project was to provide more spaces for graduate students in particular, given the university’s newly appointed R1 status.
“As we get a more robust graduate student population who want to live on campus, this will be an option for them,” Ray said.
Alongside the renovated housing, Vandal Village will also feature a commonspace called “The Lodge.” It’s meant to be the center of the community, offering spaces to study, play games, grab a bite to eat at the vending machines and even to host events at.
“This is him supporting the students,” Ray said in connection to Green’s vision for a fresh living community coming to life.
Each unit comes with several amenities, including in-apartment washer and dryer, wireless internet, fully furnished living spaces, a full sized kitchen with dishwasher and air conditioning.
With regard to pricing, Ray said the monthly rent rates were set based on the suggestion and market research done by the university’s contractors.
For graduate and undergrad students, a studio apartment is $1,339 a month, a one-bedroom apartment is $1,432 and one room in a two-bedroom apartment is $1,154. Family housing costs $1,275 per month for a one-bedroom flat, while offering two to four room townhouses priced at $1,940, $2,440 and $2,920 respectively.
Ray said they decided to charge per bed, so students don’t have to be financially liable for if someone moves out of a shared space.
Paige Wilton can be reached at [email protected].