Pictured above: Osprey Suites is one of USFSP’s housing options.
Courtesy of Gavin Hadro | The Crow’s Nest
By Stephane Mathurin
The start of the fall semester symbolizes the beginning of change in the lives of many students. As thousands return to college, some for their first time in-person, new challenges arise for students and universities alike.
With USF’s record breaking numbers of student enrollment for the 2021-2022 academic year the issue of housing the growing number of Bulls increases.
“We currently have more students living on campus than we have had before, our current percentage of assignable bed spaces is at 92 percent [occupied]” Director of Housing and Residential Education Susan Kimbrough said.
Having safe and accessible housing is a must in college as commuting is difficult for many students, as they come from other counties, states, and countries to attend USF.
“I think [student housing] is a wonderful resource to have. It definitely could be more affordable and there could certainly be more efforts to make it affordable,” USF St. Petersburg senior Annabella Keim said.
Affordability, although subjective by nature, is another aspect to be addressed in discussing student housing. Studying full time can leave little to no room to supplement scholarships or financial aid a student receives.
Rent costs are continually increasing with Rentcafe.com reporting a 21% increase in average rent costs for the city of St. Petersburg. As rent costs increase, many students may find living on campus may be their only option, but is on campus housing actually an affordable option?
Compared to other Florida universities, it is clear USF housing across all campuses is significantly higher in price.
“I live off campus because living on campus was significantly more expensive compared to my current living situation. I would say it was roughly $400 more monthly [compared to my current apartment], and I also had to pay for a meal plan,” USF Tampa student Daimarelys Gonzalez said.
Gonzalez lived on campus her freshman year at USF Tampa in Juniper Hall, a suite style dorm, which is currently $7,500 for two semesters.
A four-person double suite, where two sets of students share one bathroom, for both the fall and spring semesters at Osprey Suites costs a total of $9,010.
Similar housing options at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami and University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando are nearly half of the cost at around $5,000 for the same suite style.
When asked about housing costs, Kimbrough attributed the disparities as being related to the age of the buildings.
“The reason you are [likely] seeing some of the other [state] schools with a more varied pricing structure is related to when the buildings were built. For example, construction costs in the 1950s, ‘60s, ‘70s or ‘80s were much less expensive than construction costs in recent decades,” Kimbrough said.
As both FIU’s Lakeview Hall and UCF’s Apollo Community are significantly older than Osprey, with Apollo dorms being built in 1967, Kimbrough’s statement could be justifiable, but further research shows this statement loses value.
Suite-style housing at UCF’s more centrally located downtown campus, which is most comparable to USF St. Petersburg because of its integration into the city center, is still cheaper.
Living at UCF’s Union West Suites costs a total of $7,100 for fall and spring semesters, a nearly $2,000 difference, when compared to the more expensive Osprey. Union West additionally opened its door to students only two years earlier than Osprey, in fall of 2019.
USF does not have any current plans for building further housing options at the St. Petersburg campus at this time.
The topic of structural development opens up another can of worms. Developers would have to address the limited physical space and the historical gentrification in the city.
“When that time comes, university and city stakeholders would be included in careful planning,” Kimbrough said.
Affordable living options on campus are a necessity, they help to make education more accessible and provide others with positive experiences they can look back at when reflecting about college.
“I like how I got to meet new people, mainly my roommates,” Gonzalez said.
Stephane Mathurin is a senior digital media and journalism major at USF St. Petersburg
