A new apartment complex in Johnson City offers Binghamton University students a cheaper off-campus alternative in the form of a renovated middle school.
C Fred Plaza Apartment Complex, named after the former C. Fred Johnson Middle School and located at 100 Albert St. in Johnson City, has been open only to BU students since August 2009. It features 79 apartments with about 166 bedrooms.
According to building manager Colleen McVannan, new students can move in at any time. Rent ranges from $525 to $650 per month, not including utilities.
“We are currently running a special that we are going to give the rest of November and all of December free (to new residents),” she said, adding that if students move in now, or anytime within the next month and a half, they won’t start paying rent until January.
McVannan said that the apartments are fully furnished with full-sized beds, a dresser, nightstand, desk, refrigerator, microwave, stove, couch, table, mirrors and chairs.
Other amenities of the apartment complex include a laundry room, fitness space, indoor basketball court, study lounge and 24-hour security.
According to David Husch, director of BU’s Off Campus College, the apartment complex’s location is a plus for residents.
“I think a big selling point for C Fred Plaza would be its convenience to campus and it’s not far from Wegmans and the mall when you get on the highway,” he said.
Husch said he thinks students do not realize how close C Fred Plaza is to campus.
“If [students] looked at a Google map and saw how close [C Fred Plaza] is to BU, that would be a selling point,” he said. “It is not in an area that students would think to live in, but it only takes five minutes or so to cross the 201 bridge to get from campus to the complex.”
Staff at the complex have also been working to increase public transportation options to and from campus.
“We are very excited that starting next semester we will have an OCC Transit bus stop right in front of our building,” McVannan said. “So there is no need for a car, but if you have one we have plenty of on-site parking in our two fenced-in parking lots.”
Brian Powell, a junior biology major and University Plaza resident, considered moving to C Fred Plaza this semester.
Powell said he chose University Plaza over C Fred Plaza because it is closer to campus and houses several stores in its vicinity. UP rental rates range from $635 to $770 per month.
Though Powell’s first preference was University Plaza, securing a spot in the complex was not easy.
“I heard about UP and decided to try and get a room there, but the waiting list was huge,” he said. “I actually did not hear back until the last day of last semester.”
Husch said that as BU’s enrollment increases, fewer beds will be available on campus and more students will move off campus, he said. He estimated that approximately 8,000 students live off campus, and said that the statistic has remained static over the last few years.
“University Plaza would rank No. 1 in off campus apartment complexes,” Husch said. “I believe they are always at 100 percent capacity.”
According to Husch, there are only two apartment communities in Vestal that cater solely to students: University Plaza and Hayes Community Apartments. C Fred Plaza plans to follow this format, he said.
“A lot of rentals happen through word of mouth,” he said. “Once they [the apartment complex] get students living there, more students visit and it snowballs.”
Husch said that the first year University Plaza opened they had a 53 percent occupancy, but as more people visited and liked it, rentals increased.