The view from the trains running along south campus will be a little bare this fall.
University Apartments will remove 12 buildings from the Spartan Village complex this summer, leaving behind a grassy field.
John Ayers, assistant manager of University Apartments, said the buildings aren’t desirable places to live because of their aging condition and their noisy location next to the train tracks.
“Spartan Village is populated, but those buildings are not,” he said. “The cost to renovate the buildings is going to be more than the cost to have new buildings put up.”
But university officials don’t know if they will construct new buildings.
“Right now, we think we have the capacity for what our needs are,” said Chuck Gagliano, vice president of Housing and Food Services. “The bulk of them have been empty the better part of this school year. We’re going to lose 128 apartments, but we’re trying to understand what our boundaries are for improvement or movement in the future.”
University Apartments officials have been gradually reducing the number of residents in the section set for demolition.
The MSU Board of Trustees’ 20-year master plan for campus, 2020 Vision, included the demolition of the buildings, which have been housing students for about 50 years.
The demolition comes at the end of several years of renovation to the three University Apartment complexes - Spartan Village, University Village and Cherry Lane Apartments.
And some Spartan Village residents say the renovations and demolition couldn’t come sooner.
“I think it is going to improve the appearance of Spartan Village,” said resident Kellie Howard, a psychology and pre-law senior. “I think there’s a lot of different things in Spartan Village that could use improvement. I’m glad they’re starting somewhere.
“I probably won’t get to see the last step, but I’m glad they’re doing something. It will definitely put a different face on Spartan Village.”
The board will be asked to approve a $686,000 demolition cost at its meeting this week.
Because there aren’t any plans to construct new buildings, Gagliano said there isn’t a strict time schedule. He expects demolition to begin in late summer or early fall.
“It shouldn’t be too noisy,” he said. “If we have to take it a little slower to fit into the residents’ needs, we can do that. We’ll work out whatever schedule we have to.
“It’s not like we’re demolishing a casino in Las Vegas.”
Jamie Gumbrecht can be reached at gumbrec1@msu.edu.
