ATLANTA — Construction could begin as early as April on new dormitories at Armstrong State University, College of Coastal Georgia, East Georgia State College, Georgia Regents University, the University of North Georgia and other schools thanks to a novel financing contract approved this week.
The University System of Georgia’s Board of Regents voted Wednesday to ink a $517-million deal with Corvias Campus Living, a Cary, N.C., division of Corvias Group of East Greenwich, Rhode Island. Since the 1990s, the company has built, owned and managed housing for the military at 13 installations.
But students won’t be living in army barracks because the University System negotiated a contract that includes approval of designs that reflect the goal of integrated study and living, according to Susan Ridley, the system’s associate vice chancellor for fiscal affairs. And Corvias offered the best designs for that of the nine teams bidding for the 65-year agreement.
Ridley has been working toward a contract for 3,700 new beds and the management of 6,200 existing ones on seven campuses for several years. The goal was to relieve taxpayers of some of the $3 billion in debt the system has amassed in dozens of foundations it created as a way to stretch funding.
“The final structure exceeds our expectations,” she said, because Corvias will pay more than was projected, creating reserves to construct future dorms or to replace aging ones.
Each school will continue to bill students for rent, provide security and oversee the resident advisors who keep order and dispense advice to residents. What Corvias will do is the cleaning and upkeep, starting July 1.
“We’ll see improved operations and maintenance, and a greater consistency to the standards of operations and maintenance that we built into the agreements,” Ridley said.
As she put it, the colleges are best at educating and dealing with young adults, while patching roofs, unclogging toilets and painting hallways is a necessary sideline. For Corvias employees, it’s the core business, giving them specialized expertise.
“We expect our initiative will generate innovation, operating efficiencies and best practices in student housing to improve the quality of the on-campus housing experience for our students,” said system Chancellor Hank Huckaby.
Plus, at schools like Georgia Regents University, the number of beds won’t necessarily increase, but it will mean the replacement of 650 that were long due for retirement.
This is the first time any university system in the country has initiated the privatization of so many dorms across multiple campuses.
“The partnership focuses on doing the right thing – providing affordable on-campus housing for USG students while also setting the stage for positive change in student housing,” said Kurt Ehlers, managing director of Corvias Campus Living.
