Meet Octave: 2020 MHN Excellence Gold Winner for ‘Development & Design in Student Housing’
A slideshow of the award-winning entry by Humphreys & Partners Architects and Gilbane Development Co.
The name of the Champaign, Ill., property is serendipitous, as Octave hints at developer Gilbane Development Co.’s signature Next Level of Student Housing program and is also the given name of an early 18th century American civil engineer and aviation pioneer with ties to the area. Octave serves the 700-acre University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, whose engineering and science buildings sit less than 1,000 feet away.
See the full list of MHN 2020 Excellence Award winners.
The pet-friendly student housing community’s two seven-story buildings encompass 538 beds in 167 fully furnished units with private bathrooms, in-unit washer/dryers, equipped kitchens and 50” flat-screen TVs. Students can also avail themselves of Octave’s best-in-class amenities package, which includes such requisite offerings as a fitness center, business center and clubhouse/lounge, as well as a heated pool, a picnic and grilling area, an elevated courtyard, a coffee bar and a game room with pool tables. When Octave opened in late summer 2019 as one of the newest residential offerings amid an older student housing market, it was already 90 percent leased.
