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N Judah

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  1. N Judah
    You're still not understanding. Becoming "Tier 1" entails whatever its proponents want it to entail, as its original, literal meaning has been lost. It did not always mean asking for ~$100 million/yr from the state legislature and building high-end dorms in the meantime. I even heard a girl say that U of H should build a new football stadium "so we can play Tier 1 teams."
  2. N Judah
    The initiative to make the school better is real (as it is for every school) but the phrase "Tier 1" has completely lost its original meaning and has come to mean whatever anybody wants it to mean. We have discussed this on HAIF before. The latest definition has something to do with attracting venture capital to the area and they even assigned a per-year dollar amount needed to get to "Tier 1" (as if it were really that easy). And now being "Tier 1" can be about high-end living and sportsmanship, too.
  3. N Judah
    Most students don't live on campus, so yeah, I think a new engineering building would be more enticing to the typical student. Well in that case it goes back to what I was saying earlier...it really does seem to be all about the cash flow, since the only "selective" thing about these dorms would be the price. You might be exaggerating my position just a little bit. What I'm saying is that I think someone somewhere found the phrase "Tier 1" years after it was effectively rendered meaningless and now they bandy it about whenever they want something. The other day I got an e-mail about "Cougar Sportsmanship" (along with everyone else on the general school mailing list) about the "letter of inquiry" C-USA sent to the school as a result of the students rushing the field after the football win against Texas Tech. It closes by encouraging the students to "make sure that we exhibit Tier One sportsmanship at all of our UH athletic events." So I think they can lay it on a little thick. My overall opinion is that the school is headed in the right direction but I'll believe it when I see it.
  4. N Judah
    I think the proportion of students that want to live on campus is on the rise, but there was always a baseline contingent that has been, and still is, underserved. Irrespective of whatever amenities they build the fact is that they still have not gotten the housing thing right. If that's the case then Calhoun Lofts should have been built off-campus. The university should not be leasing prime land on-campus to private dorm companies, irrespective of how "selective" these dorms are supposed to be. And how can private dorms afford to be "selective"? These lofts must have gotten a great deal on the land lease if they are able to sit there half-empty without any price reductions or amenities of any sort (ie the nonexistent grocery store). I personally doubt the university is really interested in creating "learning communities." Like "Tier 1" it's just a buzzword they must have picked up somewhere and like "Tier 1" the phrase "learning communities" is just meaningless enough to take to mean whatever they want. So anything they build from here on out, no matter how overly expensive or how much they give up to for-profit corporations, will be categorized as being "Tier 1" or "scholar research community"-based irrespective of reality.
  5. N Judah
    I did a thought experiment and concluded that if I were a high school student, Calhoun Lofts would not entice me to attend U of H. However, a new engineering building/quad, imho, would be much more appealing. I am very suspicious of a "Scholars and research community" the only barrier to entry being the ability to afford to live there. 12 month leases make me very certain that it is all about the cash flow. I heard from a guy who lives there that the university leases the land out to a private company that built and runs the dorms. This makes sense, as they do not operate through the Housing and Dining Office but from somewhere within Calhoun Lofts. By default there will always be people who prefer to live, work, and play on campus. The trick is to not go out of your way to drive them off.
  6. N Judah
    Demolishing Cougar Place will help create demand for these new lofts. I overheard a couple of maintenance dudes talking about how structurally unsound Cougar Place was and how the school had to spend money recently to patch it up. Eventually Cougar Place will be torn down for a tailgate plaza and the Robertson LRT entrance. This is a decent investment in "school spirit" and it can be worth it, in a city teeming with UH alums, to keep the school connection going. They should sell the stadium out every time (even in bad years). Making a better/more accommodating football game experience will help. In addition, the plan is to increase the # of grad students over the next several years, which will create demand for Calhoun Lofts. This reinforces the point I made earlier in the thread that it's all about the $$. Instead of coming up with more enticing lease agreements and/or dropping the price to entice more actual U of H students they decided they would rather have students from other schools. In this way they choose cash flow over "bustling community." Interestingly, they will have to make these kinds of concessions anyway once the LRT comes through and students have more options. Would a student rather have a straight shot < 10-minute LRT commute to midtown at $1.30-$1.50 per square foot or live on campus for ~1.5x the price?
  7. N Judah
    An article in the Daily Cougar: http://www.thedailycougar.com/107-8m-lofts-open-to-residents-1.1819269
  8. N Judah
    Nevermind, I thought it was the equivalent of them giving him a column. In fact I think anyone who wants a blog on Chron.com can sign up and get one.
  9. N Judah
    I'm really surprised they gave him a blog.
  10. N Judah
    Article about Calhoun Lofts in today's Chron -- http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6582504.html
  11. N Judah
    Well I only know what they told me on the tour, and I have done my best to relay that information here. Having said that, I'm glad you appreciate the edit (which occurred long before you posted your reply) -- and in all seriousness, as soon as you figure out how to use a phone, you can even call them up and ask them for the pricing yourself ;-) You might be right -- but the fact is that they did run out of undergrad furnished efficiencies when demand still existed (a calculated move?). But the truth is that sometimes knowing more than a bunch of random people on a website just isn't enough.
  12. N Judah
    I don't remember off the top of my head...I think per month the unfurnished efficiency was ~810-ish and the furnished efficiency was ~835-ish? I don't know. They'd probably tell you if you called them up -- who knows, maybe the prices are even lower by now. Also, the first X people to sign up get free laundry or something like that, but they made it seem like they were extremely close to signing up that X amount of people. Also, though the web site says "move-in special" I was told that, in fact, there is no move-in special. Alright that's about all I remember about these dorms. They have a rooftop deck with a panoramic view of downtown. If I were a 1L who intended to do a summer associate-ship downtown these dorms would be the obvious choice. But as far as fostering a "bustling community" I really don't think this is the way to do it. In the end the LRT will have more of an effect than anything. Edit: Actually, I don't think the efficiencies had lowered prices, but it was the other units (1-bdrm, 2-bdrm) that had the lowered prices.
  13. N Judah
    Sorry, I meant to say "the entire building is definitely not sold out" (just in case anyone might have been thinking that). I wasn't referring to undergrad furnished efficiencies in particular.
  14. N Judah
    Maybe, but I am almost positive this was the map they were using to determine which unit to list on the contract.
  15. N Judah
    Well I forgot to mention that they did lower the prices. I do not remember what the original prices were, only that they were lowered. Also I was under the impression that unfurnished efficiencies and furnished/unfurnished one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms were available for undergrads, and all types of units were still available for grad students (ie above the 5th floor or whatever the cutoff is). They had some kind of map with unavailable units crossed out and it was definitely not sold out.
  16. N Judah
    Er...and so you're saying that everyone leaves because of a lack of available summer housing? And it is your opinion that the absence of people around is then what makes it "hellish" ? That makes no sense at all. Other schools have dorms, which are on-campus (ie owned by the university), and either you leave in December, or May, or you pay to stay another three months. If you want to live off campus you live in an off-campus apartment, which typically has a yearlong lease, which is what these on-campus lofts are most like. That is what I'm saying. Private dorms located a block from campus offer the 10- or 12-month "option." So do private apartments, except it's typically the opposite -- they do not give you the "option" to only stay for the schoolyear. This particular (private apartment) setup is what this particular dorm setup most closely resembles. This is neither bad nor good from my perspective (unless they have trouble filling the dorm, in which case it is definitely a bad waste of university space and resources). I have no idea why somebody would take this viewpoint as a personal affront. Perhaps if less such people attended U of H it would not be so "hellish" and have more of a "bustling community."
  17. N Judah
    You can't think of any reasons? Anyway, I think a significant portion of the people who live there will leave for the summer. U of H is hellish during the summer. Again, I haven't seen that particular setup at any other school's on-campus housing. That was my initial point. It is less like the typical "on campus housing" setup and more like an off-campus private dorm. If, as you've said, this is their way of fostering a "bustling community" I'm not sure what precedent exists.
  18. N Judah
    Having to pay for a 12-month lease when you only intend to live there for the schoolyear (or just for a semester) is not going to foster "community." I don't know what would make anyone think that.
  19. N Judah
    But really, that facade is one of the worst I've ever seen. It seems almost spiteful towards the idea of street-level interaction. It's a shame too since the rest of the building looks good.
  20. N Judah
    No, I think it's about money. Other schools with bustling campus communities and on-campus housing don't make you pay for 12 months at a time. You can't make a "community" by trapping people into a lease. If it were that easy that goal would have already been achieved by the private dorms a block from campus.
  21. N Judah
    As of last week the undergrad (ie floors 2-5) furnished efficiencies were all gone at Calhoun Lofts. They didn't say how many of them were undergrad furnished efficiencies to begin with. The "utilities package" includes the first $25 of electricity. The remaining $320/mo. (for an efficiency) is for water, heating, and AT&T U-verse. Parking in the new garage will be in the mid-$200 range...they said they do not know yet. Residents of Calhoun Lofts are pre-allotted a # of parking spaces in the new garage. They want 12-month leases, which makes it not really like the typical "on campus housing" setup and more like an off-campus private dorm. Usually, at most places, it is done by semester. The rooms are very nice...for a few hundred $ more per month than you'd pay to live at Cougar Place you get a significantly nicer setup.
  22. N Judah
    An atrocious, idiotic street-level interaction followed by a really good one. How NOT to do it right v. how to do it right.
  23. N Judah
    The people on the "Guessing Game" threads can probably spot the resemblance http://www.greeninfrastructurewiki.com/page/4W:+Woonerf
  24. N Judah
    You guys have seen these kinds of "charette"-based drawings before, right? They are always so pie in the sky. I think the ideal intersection would be a compromise -- something halfway between that picture and the usual response of "let's eminent domain all the businesses on both sides of the street and then add an extra lane in each direction, hopefully tolled."
  25. N Judah
    In addition, dorms can be privately funded. There is also already an example of this on the UH campus. That's the base price...there is also a "utilities package" that costs another $300+.
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