KU official: Proposed housing important for basketball recruiting

By Gary Bedore     Jan 8, 2014

A proposed $17.5 million apartment complex, to be located on the west side of Naismith Drive, will house up to 32 Kansas University men’s and women’s basketball players as well as 34 other students, who will not be athletes and must have at least 30 credit hours, KU associate AD Jim Marchiony confirmed on Tuesday.

One estimate indicates the cost comes out to about $265,000 per apartment. Some apartment rooms will be two bedroom; others four bedroom. Lounges will be on each floor with meeting rooms as well as a courtyard.

“Our goal is to provide the best living environment in the country and the quality of the complex give us a chance to provide that,” Marchiony said. “That type of quality costs money and we have donors who recognize this and are willing to help.

“We are out to provide a high-quality living experience that is important for us to be able to continue recruiting the level of student athlete that has kept us among the elite programs in the nation,” Marchiony added.

Some schools, such as Kentucky, have upgraded living quarters for athletes. A dormitory for UK basketball players, which opened in 2012, cost $7 million to build and was privately funded.

“More than half of the apartments will house students of the general student body,” Marchiony said.

“We have very nice living arrangements at Jayhawker Towers for student athletes and the general student body,” he noted. “The Towers has had a waiting list for quite a while. We know there is demand for more high quality on-campus apartments. This will help with that demand.”

The project will be funded through a combination of private funds and bond proceeds, the bonds to be paid for by revenue generated by the apartments. The proposal will be considered by the full Kansas Board of Regents next week. One regent this week expressed concern about the cost of the project. The goal is for the project to begin construction in March 2015 and be completed in July 2016.

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