Trustees Approve Historic Stamford Housing Plan

Apartments expected to open for fall 2017 would house about 300 students.

An artist's rendering of the student housing planned for the Stamford Campus. Expected to open for fall 2017, the apartments would house about 300 students.

An artist's rendering of the student housing planned for the Stamford Campus. Expected to open for fall 2017, the apartments would house about 300 students.

The University of Connecticut Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to approve an agreement that will bring housing for about 300 students to the campus, as interest in programs like Business and Digital Media & Design continue to boost enrollment. The planned apartments will mark the first time the campus has offered housing to its students.

“This is wonderful news not just for UConn, but for the city of Stamford,” University President Susan Herbst said. “This reflects the tremendous demand we’ve seen for the programs at our Stamford campus, and will give our students in the region the opportunity for a more traditional college experience, while benefiting from all the things Stamford has to offer.”

The six-story building at 900 Washington Boulevard, two blocks from UConn Stamford and close to the Stamford Transportation Center, is being developed by RMS Companies. It will have 116 apartments (10 studios, 49 single-bedroom units, and 57 two-bedroom units), a first-floor meeting room, study lounges on each resident floor, administrative offices, and retail space on the ground floor, which will be retained by the developer.

UConn will control the entire building, except the retail spaces and some parking, through a master sublease with an annual term of 25 years.

The building is currently under construction, and is scheduled for completion in summer 2017, with students able to move in in time for the fall semester. Although the maximum occupancy is 350, the plan is to have about 290 students living in the facility.

UConn has had a presence in Stamford since 1951, when it began offering extension courses in the former Stamford High School. A year later, a regional campus was formally established, with an enrollment of 21 part-time students.

The campus moved to a new building in 1962, with four-year degrees being offered in several fields of study starting in the 1970s. In 1998, UConn Stamford moved to its current downtown location as one of the first UConn 2000 projects.