Photos by: Ashton Summers
The University of Mississippi is evaluating bids from private developers for construction of dramatically expanded student housing. The project aims to add 3,500 on-campus beds by 2029 to accommodate growing student enrollment at the university.
This project is a shift from the university’s previous plans, announced in August 2023, to construct three new residence halls on the former Kincannon Hall lot.
According to a university request for proposals (RFP) obtained by The Daily Mississippian, the new plan still includes the construction of student housing at the former Kincannon site but adds student housing projects in the following locations: a currently undeveloped site next to West Row near the UM School of Law, the current South Parking Lot on Athletics Lane and another site next to the South Campus Recreation Center.
The first residences are expected to be completed by summer 2027 and the last no later than summer 2029.
The issue with the initial Kincannon plan was affordability.
“We started (the Kincannon) process in earnest roughly three years ago, in discussions and then some concrete planning,” Provost Noel Wilkin said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “We put it out for bids — the bids came back at more than what we could afford. And so we had to pivot.”
Choosing a private developer to manage construction of the housing projects — as opposed to the university taking on those responsibilities — will make construction prices more affordable and keep down the costs students pay for housing.
In addition to initial construction of the facilities, the private developer will enter into an agreement for long-term management of the facilities including the provision of maintenance, custodial and landscaping services. The RFP says that the initial agreement between the developer and the university will last 45 years, with options for two 10-year extensions and one five-year extension.
These kinds of partnerships are known as public-private partnerships, or the P3 model, and have been adopted at numerous higher education institutions across the nation. The University of Utah has partnered with American Campus Communities to add 1,400 beds with plans for 5,000 more.
While final selection of a developer was supposed to take place by March 21, according to a timeline in the public RFP, no developer had been selected as of March 26.
In an interview with The Daily Mississippian, Vice Chancellor of Administration and Finance Steven Holley discussed the university’s status on developer selection.
“We narrowed down to a set of finalists,” Holley said. “We’re awaiting what they call at this stage of investment a final offer: We believe we can deliver housing at a certain speed for you, expressed in months, for a certain dollar amount.”
After choosing a developer, the university will present a pre-development agreement to the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning — the governing body that approves all construction projects at the university — in April or May.
SB 2519, which authorizes such public-private partnerships, was signed by Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on March 18, according to LegiScan.
Holley said that the university has taken extra time in making a final decision due to the length of the contract with the developer.
“They’re with you for a long time, and you need them to really understand you,” Holley said. “So that’s why all the extra time is invested in getting to know them.”
Growing enrollment and the need for more student housing has been a defining issue at the university in recent years.
First-year enrollment nearly doubled from 3,037 in fall 2020 to 5,973 in 2024, and during that time, campus housing has consistently operated at 90% capacity or higher, according to the RFP. Between on-campus housing and Campus Walk, the university has 5,687 bed spaces, which is not enough to house all enrolled freshmen.
The RFP also included statistics that indicated that the trend is set to continue, projecting university enrollment to reach 25,163 students by the 2025-2026 school year.
Source: The University of Mississippi
While the university has in recent years negotiated master leases with off-campus apartment complexes to provide additional student housing, the university has still received criticism for allowing growth in enrollment without developing commensurate parking and housing infrastructure and for not providing services to help students with the off-campus housing search.
Wesley Templet, former ASB Senate chair and leader of its Housing Committee, said the committee views the partnership as a practical solution to UM’s housing needs.
“I’m not gonna say it’s the best option, but it’s definitely a stronger option than what we were currently dealing with,” Templet said. “Private investment is going to be able to come in and do it really quickly, where we might run into a few more boundaries with the university.”
Development details
Here are more details about what the development would include, according to the RFP.
Development will include semi-suite and apartment-style units:
- Semi-suites: two double-occupancy bedrooms connected by a shared bathroom
- Apartments: mainly for upperclassmen, featuring single bedrooms with private bathrooms
- Staff apartments: Each housing development must have two to four furnished two-bedroom units for resident staff, depending on total bed count at each building.
Estimated timelines
Here are the estimated timelines for each project site, according to the RFP:
- West Row: 750+ semi-suite beds for first-year students and a flexible amount of suites and apartments for upper-division students projected by 2027
- Kincannon: 750+ semi-suite beds for first-year students by 2028 or earlier
- South Parking Lot: a flexible number of apartments for upper-division students prior to summer 2029
- South Campus Rec Center Site: a flexible number of apartments for upper-division students prior to summer 2029
Parking solutions will be required for most sites, except Kincannon, which will benefit from the 1,000 spot garage that is under construction.
Costs
Semi-suite pricing should not exceed 25% over current on-campus rates. Based on coStar data from November 2024 listed in the RFP, rental rates for the new apartments should not exceed:
- 1-Bedroom: $8,400/semester
- 2-Bedroom: $7,100/semester
- 3-Bedroom: $6,600/semester
- 4-Bedroom: $5,500/semester
Anabelle Miller contributed reporting.
