Plans Unveiled for Student Housing Project Next to Rowan University

By Anuradha Kher, Online News EditorGlassboro, N.J.–Harkins Builders has unveiled its plans with SORA Housing LLC to build new student housing for Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. The $21.5 million Glassboro Student Housing is part of the Rowan Boulevard development partnership between Rowan University and the Borough of Glassboro, N.J., which is also being developed by Harkins Developers.The 154-unit student housing component will be four-story wood frame construction with slab-on-grade, comprising mostly four-bed, two-bath units, each with a kitchen and living area. Construction is planned in two phases, with Phase I featuring 568 beds.The building wraps around the site, creating an inner courtyard accessible via 2.5-story arched openings accented with decorative HardiePanel features. This phase is expected to be ready for occupancy by August 2009. The second phase will include 324 beds around a second courtyard, with occupancy scheduled for August 2010.In addition to student housing, the Rowan Boulevard development features five mixed-use buildings, a hotel and a bookstore. The mixed-use component includes approximately 340 apartments, predominantly studios and one-bedroom units along with some two- and three-bedrooms apartments, and 200,000 sq. ft. of retail space. The entire project is slated for completion in 2012.“Given the current market situation, this project is safer because it is adjacent to the State University with whom we already have a lease agreement,” Bruce Farrell, director of development, Harkins Builders, tells MHN. “Everyone is still quite touchy about financing so it certainly wasn’t easy.”The area where the Rowan Boulevard project is located was declared a blighted area eight years ago. “It was pulling down the whole neighborhood and needed redevelopment and those are the kinds of projects we look for.”