Living with roommates can be rough. It can turn best of friends into the bitterest of enemies. Roommates come in all shapes and sizes, backgrounds and dispositions. There is no art or science to finding a perfect roommate because, quite simply, the perfect roommate does not exist. No matter how much you might think you know people, after nine months of daily interaction, all you can recognize is their faults; they never do the dishes, they’re always drunk, their annoying girlfriend/boyfriend is always over, they play their terrible music really loud and they hog the bathroom during the times you need it most. In order to avoid stirring conflict, you try to grin and bear it, but all you really want is a clean kitchen and just a moment of peace and quiet. If you simply cannot take it any more, there is a simple solution: live alone. And if you are willing to shell out a couple extra shiny pennies, you can live alone in style.
Everybody already knows all of the usual one-bedroom student apartment complexes around the University. Ducks Village, Chase Village, The Commons, etc. are all new and roomy, but you have to pay premium to live in what is essentially a monotonous, isolated, glorified dorm complex. All of the quads and complexes running along Alder are cheap and conveniently located, but the facilities are old and the neighborhood is loud. Sure, these complexes have enough to satisfy the typical college student, but why be slighted when there are rooms available that are historically elegant, modernly chic, and as quiet as Sunday church?
The Lincoln School Condominiums, located on 12th and Jefferson in the presidential blocks, is a 59-unit condominium complex converted from the historical Lincoln Elementary School. The building was constructed in 1924 as part of the Eugene Public School System. It was originally opened as Woodrow Wilson Jr. High School and converted to Lincoln Elementary in 1956 before changing demographics forced its closure in the late 1970s. The building is listed on the National Register of Historical Places and still features a lot of the school’s original structures. The wide and expansive hallways echo as you walk down the old fir floors, just like the seas of children that used to shuffle down to the lunch hall. White porcelain water fountains pepper the halls, giving a nostalgic reminder that the building once served young minds thirsty for knowledge.
The building has an ancient feel, but the fresh paint and steel-plated appliances update it into the 21st century. The stylish light fixtures compliment the sunshine that billows through the skylights and reflects off the gorgeous wood floors. The central heating units keep utility bills low and the overhead fans provide an aesthetically pleasing option for air conditioning.
The kitchens are decked out with modern appliances – electric stoves, garbage disposals, steel-plated fridges and dishwashers – and elegant granite countertops. The rooms’ covered decks look out onto the foliage-rich courtyard. The brownstone courtyard was converted from the school’s auditorium and provides a relaxing outdoor dining environment.
The Lincoln condos are conveniently located near both downtown and the University campus. The condos are primarily occupied by working adults, making it perfect for students looking for quiet and peaceful living.
“Weekends might be busy, but most people here work a nine-to-five so most of the time it’s dead quiet,” said University student and Lincoln resident Alex Peterson.
The student population remains low because the condos have been solely put up for sale. But now that the majority of rooms have been bought up, many of the new owners are placing their units up for rent at reasonable monthly rates. There are typically three units up for rent at any given time, so if you are lucky enough to get a hold of one, you might quickly forget how you ever lived before. Peterson quipped, “I don’t feel like I’m at school; I feel like I’m at home.”
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