Free Tanning, Movie Theaters, Pool: Dorm Life for the McMansion Generation
Dawn Wotapka reports:
Erase the image of the concrete-and-steel dormitory tower where you had to sport flip flops in the communal bathroom. Instead, picture a resort: At Vista del Sol, a dorm in development at Arizona State University there’s a pool and sundeck with lounge cabanas, free tanning, a movie theater and social lounge with flat-screen televisions.
In today’s WSJ I write about student housing, a niche sector considered a bright spot in the dark housing crash. (Indeed, American Campus Communities and Education Realty Trust, two public operators, boast returns topping 10% so far this year, which some experts expect to be a sour one for real estate investment trusts.)
That’s because campus landlords can chant something most others cannot: Build it and they will come. As the majority of high-school graduates seek degrees, enrollment is projected to climb to 20.4 million in 2016, up nearly 42% in 25 years. In 2020, Arizona State University expects to have 100,000 students duking it out for just 22,500 beds.
But many schools would rather spend their money on things like upgrading classrooms and facilities, and scholarships. So, Arizona State struck a deal with American Campus to build and operate more campus housing. The first, Vista del Sol, has about 2,000 beds that debut next month. They’ve been booked for months, and there’s a waiting list.
“It’s just bananas how nice it is there,” said 22-year-old James Kindle, a senior who has lived in Arizona State’s older facilities. “…The dorm I lived in and Vista del Sol are not in the same league.”
College kids don’t have unlimited bank accounts — even if mom and dad are footing the bill — so monthly rent, which ranges from $450 to $1,000, is comparable with the school’s newest traditional dorms. The $130 million project is designed to not only retain and recruit students, but to cater to the McMansion generation that grew up with spacious bedrooms and personal showers.
“I wouldn’t say they’re spoiled. It’s just they’ve been raised differently,” said Michael Coakley, the school’s Associate Vice President and Executive Director of University Housing. “Doubled loaded corridors with shared bathrooms, not really their scene.”
There will be no bright spots in real estate. Only places that crash later or sooner than others. Only when values hit equilibrium as defined by P/E Ratio will the crash stop.
What is a home’s P/E Ratio? Use a calculator like this one to find out:
http://www.howtosellyourhouse.net/valuetool.html
Notice how none of these luxury dorms are being built at colleges that are academic heavyweights… they’re for the kids who think college is a 4-year resort. Hope that communications degree from Arizona State works out for you!
Communal dorm life serves two functions: (1) forced socialization–nothing says grow up and get along like communal bathrooms–and (2) re-setting the housing market bar so that a kid, used to living in Mommy and Daddy’s luxurious home, doesn’t experience culture shock when entering the housing market on their own for the first time after graduation.
Plus, if you take a greener point of view, why are we promoting the McMansion conspicuous consumption lifestyle in the first place? We should all be ratcheting down in the face of increased price of natural resources, not getting even bigger.
Not spoiled? Come on! What’s next, they get their own “reality” tv show? I think Olec’s comment is on point, too. Some of these kids are going to just slam back down to earth some day….
Small rooms invite intellectual rigor; large spaces encourage sloth. How is this preparing our Barbies and Kens to be outsource labor for India and China in five years? Free tanning in Arizona??? They should offer free Hindi and Mandarin.
“I wouldn’t say they’re spoiled. It’s just they’ve been raised differently
You have to be kidding! raised differently? What the hell is that? They are spoiled. That’s why when something doesnt go their way, they always start hollering, “No fair!”
“Doubled loaded corridors with shared bathrooms, not really their scene.”
I’m sure living on the streets “isnt the scene” of the homeless, but they have no choice. So spoiled, so naive. And it’s the liberal institutions of education that are pushing this. When life kicks these students in the ass, they wont know what to do. What will they do then? I can tell you, they will run home to mommy and daddy. This country will be nothing more than spoiled, immature, living at home, 40 year olds who think the world should be as when they were kids, with everyone giving and taking care of them.
Ditto, Olec. It’s supposed to be about the education, not the fancy housing. How deal with real life, when they can’t afford post-college housing that’s as nice as their dorms? Oh, sorry, they’ll just borrow more money than they can ever pay back . . .
No wonder college costs go up so fast…
CollegeParent, I’m with you. Post college housing as good as the dorms won’t be affordable. Why shouldn’t students live in dorms that reflect the conditions they’ll be in post graduation?
It will make for one large lawsuit once the first drunk/drowning incident happens at the pool. Only then will the school wish it would’ve gone a different direction.
It is just a large apt. complex with small rooms and a big pool. That does not create a college community. Add a dining hall, and it would be a good model for any singles apartment. The developers should take the idea, and built it away from campus also.
The college official writes (in defense of students who can’t handle normal dorm living): ““I wouldn’t say they’re spoiled. It’s just they’ve been raised differently”. Uh, yeah, so, what exactly is the definition of “spoiled” then?
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The typical university has devolved into little more than a party playground — an extended childhood. Oh, and also an institution for the final phase of PC indoctrination.
After two years of living in the dorms, I’m going to the apartments but I’m grateful for the experience. As my RA once said, “you better enjoy this time while you can because the next time you live in close quarters with a bunch of people you’re age, you’ll be in a retirement home.”
There’s something about old dorms, small rooms and communal bathrooms that just screams college. It forces one to grow up in a hurry and realize that college is about entering the real world and not just escaping from mommy and daddy. Besides, how are spoiled kids supposed to understand the values of hard work when they have done nothing to get to college, and, when they do get there, they are living in a virtual transplant of home? Sure, I didn’t have air conditioning, and I was squeezed into a small room, but my best friends are the guys with whom I shared the (gasp) communal bathroom. There is no greater bonding, or more fun, experience than running from exploding toilets. From the very beginning, we realized success is about hard work, not free handouts and posh living conditions.
And we wonder why the cost of college is skyrocketing!
As we spend the better part of our summer vacation visiting schools where my son might attend next year, housing amenities are not even close to being one of the selection criteria. I am hard pressed to see how a swimming pool, free tanning etc., will be a recruiting tool for a university. We accept small cramped dorm rooms as a given and instead choose to focus on class size, four year graduation rates, % of faculty that are full time and have achieved their highest degree in their field. Though arguably my son may be one of those spoiled kids from a McMansion, he has been told that his days of living in comfort with parents readily available to solve every problem are rapidly coming to an end. In our culture we have the luxury of a prolonged adolesense but as parents it’s our job to move them up and out into the adult world. Not sure how luxury dorm living serves the needs of the student or the society at large.
Cool down. I am a fulltime collge student in Toronto and this would be IDEAL! Students would not have to lie or go elsewhere to hang out, they could simply stay on campus and get the breather they NEED.
FOR ALL OF YOU COMPLAING ABOUT PRICE**They mentioned above the price is the same as the regular dorm.
I cant even get a space on campus- so whoever gets one of these spots- enjoy!!!!
And, pick up Hindi and Mandarin in your sparetime! haha, i liked that comment made by Tucson Collapse.
That doesn’t look like a lap pool. All it needs is an outdoor pizza buffet.
That’s right, baby. They say money can’t buy happiness, well look at the smile on my face!
I have worked in college and university settings for over 25 years. This facility will almost certainly look like a $25 a night hotel in about 5 years. Will the institution have it paid off in 5 years? Not likely. What will they do when their McMansion kids turn thier noses up at the run down facility and choose not to live there — either by getting Mommy & Daddy to get them an apartment nearby or by not attending the institution at all?
I pay twice that price to split an old, cramped apartment with 2 roommates at the University of Maryland. This is a win-win situation because the housing company will make a killing on utility bills and repair costs to the apartment (sheetrock breaks much easier than old concrete walls), and the university will have a new building to promote to prospective students. And ASU happens to be the FBI’s least safe college campus (Maryland is #2 so were in the same boat), so a secluded residence with high security will only benefit the students. A few lucky kids will have a change to forge friendships poolside rather than in cramped quarters, and for the same price as their counterparts in the dorms. If you build it, they will come.
This new housing development will do little to change ASU’s image as a hard-partying school.
Take note Olec, many of your “academic heavyweights” are spending even more on new housing with amenities and more expensive finishes than this. They’re just doing it internally, because it can’t be financed otherwise, so you don’t hear a lot about it. Get off your high horse.
“Calm down - Student Perspective” (that’s some name) writes:
“Students would not have to lie or go elsewhere to hang out, they could simply stay on campus and get the breather they NEED”
Students are forced into lying? Wow, that’s a new one on me. And what happens when you become an adult, earning your own way through life, and likewise feel the need for a breather? Will you likewise HAVE to lie to find a nice spot for R&R?
Ah yes, the university. A font of wisdom. But hey, at least they can recite the latest PC doctrines. Too bad it doesn’t include the ABCs of moral character.
ASU is a a C tier school anyway and needs nice facilities to bring in upper tier students. you can dress up the pig…it’s still a pig.
We provide sprinklers, security camera, fire alarm systems, green energy efficient appliances/bulbs/insulation etc, soundproofing in addition to the more posh amentities all of which creates a nice, safe and fun living environment for your 18 year old son or daughter leaving home for the 1st time. Our Parents are as much the reason for the push for better student housing developments as the student “spoiled” demands.
Developer/Owner:
That doesn’t change that the students are spoiled, and this is just adding to the university-as-playground atmosphere. We live in an age where kids are spoiled rotten, and the parents do indeed play a huge part in that. And you’re a businessman, who will do anything for a buck.
Don, I would hope if you are reading the WSJ you would have a more sophisticated view of the business world than your comment suggest. Business meets a need in the marketplace - no need = no revenue. I bet you are voting for Obama (business bad and must pay for societies ills, damn the profiteers). There is a definite need for safe, secure and fun housing and we aim to meet that need through solid investment of our monies while exhibiting a green investment mentality well beyond the “bottom line” to ultimately produce a product we are proud to develop/construct and own. We do agree, however, that parents as well as children are raised with an entitlement attitude, and that trend can only be bucked over many years of proper childrearing.
Don, I would hope if you are reading the WSJ you would have a more sophisticated view of the business world than your comment suggest. Business meets a need in the marketplace - no need = no revenue. I bet you are voting for Obama (business bad and must pay for societies ills, damn the profiteers). There is a definite need for safe, secure and fun housing and we aim to meet that need through solid investment of our monies while exhibiting a green investment mentality well beyond the “bottom line” to ultimately produce a product we are proud to develop/construct and own. We do agree, however, that parents as well as children are raised with an entitlement attitude, and that trend can only be bucked over many years of proper childrearing.
this is going to be subsidized by the state government of arizona?
Sam you’re completely right.
But even with such amenities it’s a clear choice for top students. Get a MUCH better education.
Developer/Owner, nope, Republican/conservative. And wise to the realities of business success. But I’m a “social conservative” (as opposed to a “fiscal conservative”) which means that I put social values on a higher level than financial ones. E.g., I personally won’t get involved in any business venture, unless I believe that it truly is providing a benefit to individuals and society alike. That’s rule #1. If it’s not possible to do that in America, then I’d rather drive a truck for a living.
The truth of the matter is that there are all kinds of different people in this country. Some want the best education possible for themselves / their children and could care less about amenitized student housing or tanning for god-sakes. There are others that look at college as a four year keg party and probably take heart in Rodney Dangerfield’s “Hey everybody, we’re all gonna get laid” mentality. Of course many people come out somewhere between the two extremes. The point is that you should all get off your high horses and acknowledge that what’s right for you is not necessary what’s right for everyone else (or what’s not right for you, in this case). Seems like many of you might even be a little jealous of these young college co-eds and the lifestyle they are able to live in their college years. Player-haters…
Dose-of-Reality:
And I’ll give you another dose of it: The young men and women who return from Iraq and Afghanistan are light years ahead in maturity, than those who go straight from high school into Club Med University. And to think that they spend years doing all of that, without playground resort facilities! How can it be? No, wait, I take that back: They do get “free tanning”, thanks to 115 degree afternoon sun.
Don, thank you for reminding us of our troops. God bless them and god bless America for giving all of us the freedom to make the different choices we so desire. From reading your various entries on this blog, I get the sense you are from the generation that had to walk up hill both ways to elementary school in 10 degree weather 9 months a year, while knitting your own clothes and burning the furniture to stay warm. Thankfully we’ve come a long way and can provide much more to the youth of today!
Dose,
No, I didn’t have it that rough. But I do think that people who did live like that, had more wisdom than most people today.
The youth of today have more than enough luxuries, comforts, and entertainments. That isn’t what they are in need of. And it’s why the young troops fighting for liberty and freedom for all, without any luxuries at all, are developing into much better adults.
They do get “free tanning”, thanks to 115 degree afternoon sun.
Ah Don….115 huh? That must have been about 7 pm in afghan! The most I saw was 125 on a good summer day!! And imagine the heat coming off that sand and rocks! LOL..And winter was worse, imagine 15 below and LOTS of snow! God I hated afghanistan..
Right-on, Stpn2me, right-on. And I stand corrected about the temperatures. Apparently you had it even better than I imagined, with even MORE “free tanning” than I assumed. 
I must say that I don’t really find it offensive or outrageous that facilities are being built with free tanning and a swimming pull in the middle of a desert. I am a 21 year old senior in college and happen to own my own home and so I know the value of hard work. If someone wants to live an apartment that’s nicer than the dorms, I don’t understand the issue that rises as far as kids being “spoiled”. How are you spoiled if you are born into a family with a certain income bracket; so does that mean that someone born to a poor family is automatically lazy? Remember as well that seniors will have first dibs on these apartments so for the first year or two; the people living in these apartments will be individuals who have already spent two to three years in the cramped corridors and showered in the communal bathrooms.
I like it and if it is affordable, why not? I couldn’t wait to live off campus in an apartment; so now the apartment comes to campus. Great way to meet people. BTW, It needs a Tiki Bar and a band.
Wow. I am surprised by all the opinions on this issue. What really matters is what each individual family has done to instill values and compassion in their children. If they are resourceful enough to find a bright, safe, clean room to live in that is close to school…at the same price as a dorm room if one was even available..then hats off to them. Would any of you choose to live in a non-descript, cramped house if something more comfortable -and fun - was available at the same price?
My son will be a Junior at ASU this year and will also be living and working at this complex (through all of his own efforts) and is impressed by the management. I look at this as a win/win. He does not have to have a car to get to work, he has a job (and has always helped to pay his way), he gets good grades and a scholarship and he is happy. We have great conversations when he is home which tells me that he is maturing and learning. I also feel strongly that he is already a responsible adult.
This is far better than his freshman year when suitemates were up until all hours of the morning making study and sleep a challenge.Ultimately, he found quiter places to study, put in his required time there and found a way to change his situation..at the same price.
As for the business aspect of these McMansion apartments, let supply and demand (of the apartments and the REITS) do its work. That is our system and time will tell if it is a better widget, or not.
As for my son’s choice of this “conspicuous” lifestyle, I am able to let go and let him make his own choices about how he wants to live in the world. I have to respect that even though it is very different from the choices I have made.
I am absolutely confident he will be an asset to society …and it won’t matter that he got to live comfortably along the way.
It’s extremely disappointing to me how people are viewing the addition of Vista Del Sol to ASU. We are still expanding, and I’m glad to see that ASU’s leaders are addressing student housing. In addition to Vista Del Sol, the Barrett Honors College is adding rooms to accommodate its honors students who choose to live on campus. Making student housing available to everyone (not just freshmen) is a win-win for the school. I haven’t done any research on the subject, but here’s my logic: who do you think does better in school, someone who lives on campus or someone who lives 10-15 minutes away? Everything else equal, I’ve got money on the kid living on campus. And theoretically, wouldn’t campus life itself benefit from having more of its upperclassmen THERE more often?
I’m an upcoming junior, and choosing to live at Vista Del Sol was easy for me. I wanted to stay on or around campus, preferably around other ASU students. Not only do I get to stay in an ASU community with my friends who I’ve lived with since I was a freshman, but it’s literally a 4 minute walk from my classes. I think paying 7% more than I did last year for housing is worth it. Oh, not to mention it’s a fantastic facility. I consider myself lucky to be able to take advantage of what Vista Del Sol has to offer.
ASU is not a real school.
This is like FannieMae / Freddie Mac without collateral and 1000x the politics. Wait till SallieMae goes belly-up and we’ll see how well this all worked out.
ASU is a party school. Always has been, apparently always will be.
Arizona State University is where Tempe12 started, something that calls itself the Sexiest College Students. Looks like they will have a new place to do casting calls on campus
I wonder how many of these people are jealous U of A students? Everyone should live in a dorm at least once… but when your dorm floods and you have RA’s telling you to go in your room and if your in the hall talking to someone next time they come around your getting written up (when its 9:00PM… who is going to want to live there?
Hahahahaha…all these people are saying that these kids are spoiled just because they aren’t as fortunate. If they had the opportunity to live here I guarantee they wouldn’t complain.
ASU isn’t a real school?? If this weren’t a real school, we wouldn’t have renowned programs such as the W.P. Carey School of Business and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. And as for Tempe12, how can you find fault in that. In this capitalist society, how can you argue with meeting the demands of the consumer. Clearly, we made it, people bought it, and colleges everywhere embraced it!I will be living at Vista in the fall, and can’t wait because I am getting the most bang for my buck!
Wow. If some of you guys would do your research before you start bashing ASU for building luxury dorms. American Campus Communities is building all over the nation. To name a few; UCI, Virgina Tech, Penn State, University of Michigan. Soon American Campus Communities will hit every school in the nation to offer on-campus housing to upperclassman.
To have the opportunity to live in a luxury dorm/apartment in college is an opportunity any of you trash talkers will take, and don’t deny it.
People are saying ASU isn’t a real school? Tell me that after I recieve my MBA from the WP Carey School of Business. It is ranked right up there with the IVY League business schools. The average graduate only gets a starting salary of $90k straight out of college. Not too bad for a “fake” school! I’ll be enjoying the sun while lying in a lawn chair poolside at Vista Del Sol this fall.
Im going to get so much pussy because of that pool, while all you nerds just wack off to the porn videos i post!
While all you fags wash your dicks in the communal showers to learn about the worth of a hard earned dollar at some shitty dorms, my tanned white ass will be sticking my shaft deep into every hot ASU bitch on campus in my spacious fully furnished apartment. God I love my money.
Blow a dick. Viva la Vista.
It is easier to get into Heaven than Arizona State.
Lots of mature comments by ASU’s finest.
What I want to know is: Why in god’s name do you need a tanning booth in Arizona? Spend about 10 minutes outside and you will get a tan. There is sun 365 days a year.
I think the latter comments say all we need to know about ASU and its student body.
You’re all just jealous and bitter people. Just because we have a nice place to live doesn’t mean we’re all spoiled little brats.
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