It has been a couple months since the lot next to The 515 apartment complex, which used to house several small businesses, has been gated off and development began for a seven story student housing building called The Standard.
It is currently being built at 435 E. Broadway. The 703 bed apartment building is scheduled to be ready for students to move in September 2024. The building will have over 265,000 square feet of residential area.
The Standard is expected to be bigger in both size and units than its neighbor, The 515 Apartments. The 515 has 186 apartment units while The Standard is planning on having 247 units. The units will range in size from studio apartments to five bedroom apartments.
The Standard will have many of the same amenities as some other nearby student apartments, including an elevated pool and outdoor deck. The building will have a gym, sauna and computer lab. Each unit will have its own laundry machines.
The building will also have around 300 parking spaces on the property, but the monthly cost of the spots has yet to be determined.
The building is 0.3 miles from campus and will be the closest student housing to the Market District and 5th Street Market. While being close to the Market District is one of the biggest selling points for the new student housing, some students think that doesn’t matter as much.
Harlem Taylor, a sophomore living in The 515, said being close to campus is better than being closer to the market district or downtown. “You can walk almost anywhere in Eugene because it’s not that big,” Taylor said. “I’d rather it be closer to campus.”
According to the public access city building permit for The Standard, the total cost to complete the building will be over $60 million. The permit states that two different buildings are set to be built. One building will cost almost $25 million and the other will cost $34 million.
There is not much information on what the floor plan is for the buildings, but the permit suggests that only one of the buildings will have an outdoor deck and gym.
Landmark Properties is the real estate firm in charge of the development and has more than 80 student housing properties across the nation. The CEO of Landmark Properties, Wes Rogers, spoke on the new project in a press release for The Standard.
“We are eager to welcome students to The Standard and believe that the combination of location and top-notch amenities will be well received by University of Oregon students,” CEO of Landmark Properties Wes Rogers said in a press release.
The Daily Emerald could not reach Landmark Properties’ media contact for a comment about its current project in time for this article’s publication.
The Standard is one of many developments coming close to the campus side of Eugene. The construction follows the announcement that a new 12 story student housing complex will be built on Alder street where Glenwood Restaurant and 7-Eleven are.
The Duck Store on East 13th Ave. is also set to have a development coming soon. The five story development will be retail and dining on the first floor and mixed student housing above.
The development of student housing has already been trending upward before The Standard too. The Unity and The Identity are two student housing apartments that opened in fall 2022. Both of these apartments are within two blocks of each other on East Broadway. The new Hamiliton-Walton on campus dorm will also be ready to hold students in fall 2023.
As the UO student population has increased, so have student housing developments. This year alone saw a 16% increase in freshman enrollment at the University of Oregon compared to last year, which was the largest freshman class on record at UO at the time. At this pace, the freshman class could keep increasing each year.
Housing is going to get harder to find close to campus. Some students believe the goal of the new developments is to prevent a housing crisis for students moving out of the dorms. Justin Thomas, a junior at the university, said the increased development is a “necessary evil” with how big the student population has gotten.
Pre-leasing on The Standard is set to begin in September 2023, following the opening of the new on campus housing. If the freshman class continues to increase each year, the development of student housing in Eugene may increase with it.
