Column: How Indiana University could expand housing with land it already owns

IU doesn’t have enough student housing. Currently, many students are struggling to find affordable housing anywhere near campus. This leaves many students in a financially vulnerable position, and increases demand for housing in Bloomington.

Meanwhile, IU is consistently increasing freshman enrollment. According to the university, students who live on campus do better in class, and are more likely to graduate. Ideally, even upperclassmen would have the opportunity to live in clean, affordable housing on campus.

Increasing enrollment also means an increasing need for faculty and staff, who would want to live in suited to professionals at different stages in their careers. Some may even want to start families, but may not be able to afford a home in Bloomington close to campus and large enough for kids.

Building new infill housing on campus can make it easier for students to find affordable housing, reduce commuting traffic on campus, and relieve the pressure that increasing enrollment puts on Bloomington’s housing market. This can also be an opportunity to grow IU’s amenities and academic facilities by building mixed-use dorms and family-friendly housing for faculty and staff.

Memorial Stadium and SRSC Parking Lots

Replacing Memorial Stadium’s parking lots with a mix of student housing, apartments, and hotels could provide an affordable alternative to expensive student apartments in the area, and create a new game day destination for visitors. Sports bars, restaurants, shops, and grocery stores on the ground floors could accommodate crowds of fans, while providing jobs and services for students.

A secondary IU gym could serve the large number of students that live in this area at a better scale than separate apartment fitness centers. A central park with awnings and barbecues could be a great place for cookouts and after-parties. Something similar can be done with the lots surrounding the SRSC. This is a high-demand area for students who want to stay fit, especially student athletes, and could be brought to life by mixed use housing with other amenities that students living in this area would typically need to drive to access.

Woodlawn and Wells Library parking lots

These two locations could provide apartments appropriate for older students, faculty, and staff. The buildings could include offices and classrooms on the lower levels, expanding IU’s educational capacity to accommodate the continued growth of the school. They would also be ideal locations for cafes and diners that serve as study spaces, as well as offices of local businesses that consistently hire students as interns or full-time employees.

Memorial Union parking lot

This parking lot is a large, central location, perfect for balancing housing with outdoor space. It’s a great place to make a perimeter block, where mixed-use buildings, typically 4 or 5 stories tall, line the outside, with passageways to a courtyard inside. Homes with windows on the interior and exterior of the block would benefit from good air flow and abundant natural light. The courtyard would be perfect for outdoor dining, farmers’ markets, and art festivals.

Developments like this can bring people together from a variety of backgrounds and income ranges due to their flexible buildings and floor plans, which allow anything from studio apartments to townhomes and luxurious penthouses. These homes can be offered preferentially to faculty and staff at reduced rates, to make IU a more affordable and attractive place to work.

Logistics

Creating small walkable neighborhoods within campus can reduce the need for students, faculty, and staff to drive, reducing parking demand on campus. The remaining demand for campus lots could be replaced with underground parking garages, which also act as delivery docks for the businesses in each building. Parking garages near Ind. 45 could replace the stadium’s parking capacity, while taking up less space.

Funding

IU’s endowment is one of the largest in the country, at about $3.6 billion. The purpose of a school’s endowment is to improve its campus, assist students with their expenses, and pay faculty and staff. I see no better way to accomplish these goals than building more housing.

Matt Gleason is a resident of Bloomington.