Recent trends in student housing have made for an exciting time to be in the multi-family development business. Long gone are the days where university students cram themselves into 300-square-foot dorm rooms, vying for personal space and living alongside miniature appliances. Between the increases in student populations and their higher standards of quality, off-campus student housing has undergone a major makeover.

According to Axiometrics, an apartment and student housing market research data service, more than 47,800 beds are expected to have been delivered nationwide by privately-owned student housing properties at the end of this fall semester alone.

On-campus housing has lagged behind both the growth rate in students and their expectations of quality in their living quarters. However, the old and outdated on-campus dorm rooms are slowly becoming a thing of the past, and developers have been able to pick up the slack by adding high quality and reasonably priced living options for new students.

Texas in particular has seen its student populations swell recently, with Texas A&M leading the charge by being in the top 15 universities in the nation for new off-campus bed supply. A total of 1,850 off-campus beds have been delivered to College Station in 2016 and more than 2,300 are expected in 2017.

KWA Construction contributed to these additions by completing the Cherry Street Apartments in College Station prior to the 2016 fall semester. The 200-bed, 108,005-square foot apartment complex sets the standard for students’ rising expectations of quality. The apartments offer modern amenities like granite countertops, while the complex is equipped with a resort-style pool area, an outdoor theater and a communal entertainment/study space.

With student enrollment continuing to increase each fall, the building industry can expect to remain busy constructing new – and more lavish – off-campus housing.