Due to the 10-year master plan to renovate nine of Plattsburgh State’s dorm buildings, room rates for standard double rooms are likely to increase by $150 per semester starting next fall, said Bryan Hartman, director of residence life.
Additional room rate increases will also likely occur throughout the course of the renovation plan, as room rates for renovated dorm buildings will cost an additional $125 per semester over non-renovated buildings.
Macdonough Hall, which was renovated in 2004-05, will likely have a higher cost to residents than other campus dorm buildings next fall.
“Macdonough is a renovated residence hall, the amenities in Macdonough are different than in any other residence hall, and in order to create the financial capacity to do future renovations, we are instituting a change in its room rates for the coming year,” Hartman said.
The room rate increases were proposed by MGT America, a consulting firm hired by PSUC to plan the renovation project.
While these proposed increases in room rates are yet to be final,
Director of Housing Cathy Moulton said it is very likely that PSUC President John Ettling will approve the increases, definitively putting them into effect.
The standard double-room rate is now $2,750 per semester. Hartman said next year that rate is projected to increase to $2,900 per semester for all buildings, while standard room rates in Macdonough will cost $3,025.
Hartman said room rates increase every year regardless of renovation plans to accommodate the salaries of workers to help operate the residence halls.
“All of our employees are members of unions that have contracts with the state of New York, and all of these employee contracts have negotiated salary increases, so the amount of salary that we have to pay for always goes up,” Hartman said.
After all buildings are renovated, Hartman said they will all have the same standard room rate.
Moulton said she does not think this additional $150 will stop people from living in Macdonough next fall.
“People like Macdonough so much that I don’t think an extra $125 will make them decide not to live there,” she said.
But even with the increased rates, PSUC’s rates will still be lower than most other SUNY schools, Hartman said. SUNY’s average room rate is $5,933 a year, which is higher than PSUC’s proposed room rates for next year.
The increased rates will help pay off the debt created through the renovation project, Moulton said.
Hartman said they will borrow around $70 million in state bonds from the dormitory authority for the state of New York to fund the project. The overall cost is projected to be $74 million.
Most of these state bonds will go toward the construction process of the renovations, as design consultants for the new buildings will be paid for in cash from reserves.
The renovation project, however, will not increase PSUC’s deficit in its overall operating budget. Funding for dorm renovations will come from the residence halls’ operating budget, which is completely self-sufficient and relies solely on student payments of room rates for revenue Clark Foster, a budget officer at PSUC, said.
“It is all funded by dorm rent and activities that are going on in the dorms, so it will not impact academic operations in any way, shape or form,” Foster said.
To pay off the $70 million debt in 15- and 30-year state bonds, Hartman said the increased revenue from room rate payments will go toward debt service payments within the budget. Therefore, over a length of time, the debt will be paid off as if it were a type of mortgage, Hartman said.
Currently, $1.7 million of the residence hall budget goes toward debt services, but by the end of the project, debt services will account for $5.7 million of the budget, Hartman said.
Hood Hall will be the first residence hall to be renovated, with construction beginning after commencement in May 2011 and ending in August 2012.
Hartman said around $7 million will be borrowed in state bonds to renovate the building.
During its renovation, Hartman said the building will be closed. He said he does not believe it will overpopulate campus housing.
Over the past couple years, PSUC has been “overshooting” enrollment targets, but in the coming years Hartman said the college would not allow for this type of admission increases. In addition, the one-third of Adirondack Hall set aside for senior housing will become open to incoming students, which will free up 45 more beds.
“We believe, that given the beds in Adirondack Hall coming back on and the smaller incoming class sizes that we will have plenty of beds for students when we take Hood Hall offline,” Hartman said.
Hartman said the possibility of triples will still exist.
Hood Hall was chosen to be renovated first due to the marketing effects it could have for the college, Hartman said. Currently, the number of students living in PSUC’s dorm buildings compete with College Suites and off-campus housing, and since PSUC residence hall operations receive all its funding through student room rent payments, it is important for PSUC to showcase its first renovation, he said.
“We are choosing Hood Hall to grab attention,” Hartman said. “It’s right on Rugar Street; people are going to see it being renovated, and when it’s renovated, it will stand out compared to the other buildings.”
After Hood Hall, Hartman said PSUC will start to renovate Harrington Hall. While MGT America advised the college to first renovate all three suite buildings, Hartman said this recommendation was denied because of the desire to show students what to expect with low-rise renovations.
Hartman said PSUC’s newest dorm building was built in 1972, making the buildings somewhat old. As of today, Hartman said they do not take away from the college’s overall atmosphere, but without renovations, he said these buildings could steer students away from PSUC in the future.
“Right now, our buildings are old and tired, but we do a good job at maintaining what we have,” Hartman said.
“We do not believe that where students are living is detracting people from applying here and wanting to come here. But if we don’t start renovating our buildings and let them deteriorate, then they will become a detractor for people wanting to come here.”
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