Student Housing Business is the voice of the student housing industry.
Issue link: https://studenthousingbusiness.epubxp.com/i/488341
will complement our portfolio of housing. We have everything from tra- ditional double-loaded corridor style housing to the mid-rise, from single gender to co-ed suite style living, from shared restrooms to semi-private bathrooms. It will provide students with a greater selection to meet their needs. SHB: Older housing stock likely does not have the amenities that stu- dents are asking for today. What are students asking for? How has UCI been upgrading amenities for students through its housing stock? Guesman: No two students — or parents — have the same concept in what they are looking for in housing, based on all the surveys we see. We try to look at what the core student needs are and accomplish that. We think that involves creating an environment that allows them to con- nect socially with other students, while providing a certain amount of privacy. Parents want their children in safe and secure spaces. At the new Mesa Court expansion, we will have semi-private bathrooms that will serve two rooms that will have up to triple occupancy in each room; there will be a maximum of six students sharing a bathroom. Our other Mesa Court housing has shared or common restroom space. The expansion is not just geared towards those who are living there; it will have a new, 28,000-square-foot dining hall and ftness center that will serve all our students, as well as an outdoor coffee shop. SHB: UCI is self-developing the expansion of Mesa Court? Guesman: Yes. We have been successful in our campus projects in a design-build approach. SHB: What is your role in UCI's student housing? Guesman: As the associate director of operations for Mesa Court, my main responsibility is for the care of our 29 residence halls, 16 acres of grounds and four public facilities. I oversee any minor renovations, as well as major projects like the addition of the mid-rise development we are doing now. I work closely with our director of capital projects asset The Mesa Court community at UC Irvine contains 29 student housing buildings, as well as services for students. VIE W FROM THE ACADEME MARCH/APRIL 2015 STUDENT HOUSING BUSINESS .COM 80