CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Last week, the new chancellor of UTC, Dr. Lori Bruce, said she wants the school to reach a student population of 15,000 by 2030.
However, with a waiting list for on-campus housing, that will prove to be one of the key areas to improve upon to reach that goal.
The future of student housing here at UTC will be a new residence hall here on Oak Street will house 784 new beds on campus.
This comes as students and leaders alike hope this will begin to attack one of the big issues affecting students here in 2025, the availability and affordability of housing.
UTC SGA Vice President and student Bridgette Greene said, “When we were discussing this new housing development, people were actually listening to us and that meant a lot.”
Each floor of this residence hall will be essentially its own neighborhood.
Dr. Bruce says that currently, over a thousand students are on a waiting list for student housing.
She said, “Just even in my couple of weeks being on campus, I’ve already heard from students that one of the limiting factors for them is finding affordable housing close by or preferably even on campus.”
We did a search for available apartments on the real estate marketplace, Zillow, in the area surrounding UTC.
The cheapest apartment that was available was a studio that is $1,025 per month to rent.
We found some listings for apartments going for well over two thousand per month in the downtown area.
UTC’s current rates for housing range from roughly three to five thousand dollars per semester.
The rising cost of housing is just one reason why there are more students willing to live on campus for multiple years.
Greene said, “A big reason why we’re building this is we’ve heard a lot of people want to live on campus for longer. Living off campus is great in a lot of senses, but living on campus to go back, you have that sense of community. It’s about accessibility. Not having to wake up super early for those 8 a.m. classes, you’re already here on campus!”
The hope is that this new project will only make UTC a stronger university.
Greene said, “That’s really a big reason why people are wanting to stay on campus for longer is because there’s a lot of change happening in our community and the world. Everything is getting more expensive, housing is getting more expensive, but here we’re all about making it affordable, and giving students options.”
Dr. Bruce says that a completion date will be announced at a later date.
