Tucson, Ariz. — World War II-era apartment was razed to make way for a modern student housing tower.
This development will focus on alternative transportation to keep the number of cars on Tucson’s roads around the university to a minimum. Tucson, Ariz. — Chicago-based student housing developer Campus Acquisitions has broken ground on a 14-story student apartment complex adjacent to the University of Arizona in Tucson. The development will be in the newly formed Main Gate Overlay District.
Construction on the 300,000-square-foot, 14-story project began in May, and the residences will open in August 2013. The property will feature 176 units, 562 bedrooms, 93 parking spaces, and amenities on levels 2, 13, and 14, including a rooftop pool and fitness center with views of Tucson, the campus and the mountains. Units will feature stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, hardwood floors, floor to ceiling windows, balconies, modern furnishings and flat-screen televisions. Other amenities include tanning beds, sauna, steam room, outdoor grilling stations, green spaces, meditation areas, multiple study areas, collaboration rooms and a community terrace.
The project was developed, in part, to satisfy the city’s goals of creating a more transit-friendly neighborhood and to support higher density developments adjacent to campus and along the Tucson Modern Streetcar line, which will be completed later this summer. Future residents will have alternative transportation options including access to resident car share vehicles, walking, cycling or light rail within steps of their front door. CA says it will encourage tenants to leave their cars behind and make use of the alternative transportation sources provided to them.
CA has partnered with architects Shepley Bulfinch of Phoenix to create the design and overall program. The exterior of the building will feature natural materials of “UA brick” and stucco accented by modern materials such as metal, aluminum, and glass. UEB of Scottsdale, who specializes in building sophisticated designs, has been selected as the general contractor. Both UEB and Shepley Bulfinch have experience with higher education-related projects.
This is one of five student housing properties that is opening near the University of Arizona in 2013.