North Carolina A&T Officials Find Fast Way To Build Dorms - Student Suites contract - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, Sept 14, 2000

GREENSBORO, N.C.

Officials at North Carolina A&T State University will build an 804-room dormitory complex in a hurry with creative financing and a Missouri builder.

The $26 million student housing project was announced last month after its unveiling to about 100 politicians and business people.

The pair of three-story buildings on a 6-acre tract will be financed with bonds that will be repaid by student fees - the customary method that University of North Carolina campuses have used to build residence halls.

The residence halls will be built by Student Suites, a company based in Blue Springs, Mo., and owned by the N.C, A&T Foundation. That gets around a lot of red tape, says foundation president Obrie Smith. A project that could take as long as five years to get through state channels will be ready for students in fall 2001, he says.

Because they will be financed with bonds and paid for by students, the dorms won't require any foundation money.

The school is under pressure to accommodate two straight years of the largest freshman classes in school history.