University of Washington dorms raise cost questions - Denver Business Journal:

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UW will spend $162 million on the first which will add morethan 1,600 beds in an area west of the Seattlew campus by the fall of 2012. UW’s Board of Regents approved the projectMay 14. Regeng Jeff Brotman, chairman of , said at more than $3 a squarw foot, rents for the new unit could be too expensive for students alreadh facing steeptuition increases. For two students sharing a 380-square-foot, double-occupanct room in a residence hall would pay acombined $1,4009 in monthly rent, current rental estimates According to Mike Scott, president of Dupree + Scott Apartment Advisors, units built in the University District between 2000 and 2009 are charging an averagew of $2.
13 a net rentable square foot for studios and $1.878 per square foot for a single bedroom. Rob assistant director of Housing and Food Servicee atthe UW, says the rates are hard to comparer with the private sector becausee new units will feature shared program space and perks such as furniture, cable and interneft services. The university says the new along with other rent increases on existing would helpgenerate $56 million in reservex that would help pay for future phases.
According to the UW’a Housing and Food Services financial projections, net income from the new housingf units and a 2 percentr increase on all other housing units wouldr increasethe department’s financial reserves to $71.5 milliohn from $15.3 million by 2020. The project assumesx several rate increases, includingy an annual 6 percent increase for the new units anda one-timee 20 percent rate increase for units that will be