Students share their housing concerns
The time to renew and sign leases at off-campus apartments for the upcoming semesters is quickly approaching. Many students with off-campus living plans are resistant to make any decision for next year, as a second wave hits. Some deadlines are even this month. The last day of November marks the deadline to renew housing at both The View and Vantage.
This is a concern for vantage tenant and sophomore Maanvi Nagireddy.
“Since none of my roommates are in Philadelphia right now, we cannot go physically check out any apartment and are, therefore, not comfortable changing our apartment, so having an early renewal deadline has been stressful for my roommates and I,” Nagireddy said.
Nagireddy left the second week of school for safety reasons.
Unlike her, recent transfer student Tanner Gilmartin was able to get a flexible month-by-month lease for the fall semester. However, this was not offered for the spring. He’s currently debating if renewing is worth it.
“I am of course concerned with if it’s really worth the money for coming here again in another semester where you’re pretty much just in your apartment the whole time,” Gilmartin said.
Online classes and an emptier campus are impacting students’ day-to-day lives and even their motivation to live in Philadelphia. Sophomore Jude Aboud is in a constant cycle of leaving for home and coming back to campus.
“Since I’m home most of the time, I might stay at home for next year,” the international business student said. “I don’t want to be caught signing a lease again if it’s gonna the same back and forth.”
Sophomore Kayla Paul-Koch does not have the option to go back and forth frequently, but like Aboud, she feels less connected to living on campus. This semester has motivated her to participate in a future study abroad program. For that and other reasons, she thinks it is just too early to re-sign a year-long lease.
“It’s a lot to think about right now because it’s like I don’t know what Spring 2022 is going to look like,” Paul-Koch said. “Like in regards to COVID, if I can even logistically do it. It’s just so hard to know what to do when I’m thinking a year in advance.”
Housing options for 2021-2022
Although signing may be stressful for next semester, students without leases are in luck.
Apartments like Diamond Green, Kardon Atlantic and The View and Vantage are offering flexible one semester leases for the spring for new tenants.
Even Temple has teamed up with The View, the Nest and University Village to decrease the number of students in residence halls for the spring.
The Temple housing application process for next semester has already started. Students will be able to start selecting rooms in time slots on November 23.
For the following year, though, many off-campus apartments, like The View and Vantage, will revert back to mainly offering 12-month leases. Temple has yet to announce their plans for the 2021-2022 academic year.
Check out the list below for more off-campus housing information for 2021.
Current offerings from off-campus apartments
Diamond Green
A representative from Diamond Green shared their Spring semester and Fall 2021 rates which are as follows:
- Spring semester rate: 3,995, 300 security deposit
- Fall 2021
- 10-month lease: 740 per month
- 12 month lease: 680 per month
- 2021 fall semester lease
- Limit of 10 spaces at 3,996.
They offer a 3 month termination fee in their leases. This could help students if classes go 95 percent online again.
Kardon Atlantic and University Apartments
“Kardon Atlantic and University Apartments are offering leasing specials along with flexible lease options. We are excited to work with students and provide apartments that fit both their pricing and lease-term parameters. We have spacious amenities including state-of-the-art fitness centers, a Peloton cycle studio, game areas, lounges, a movie theater, and private and shared study lounges. Another great perk at Kardon Atlantic is Richie’s Café, located conveniently in the lobby.
In order to ensure a safe and healthy living environment, both properties have increased cleaning measures and require staff to wear masks at all times. We encourage all residents to wear masks outside of their apartments and to follow local and state mandates along with the CDC’s recommended safety protocols. We offer apartments featuring private bedrooms and we have an online portal that makes paying rent and submitting maintenance requests easy without physically interacting with staff.
Anyone interested can also check out our videos, website, and set up an in-person or Virtual tour! See why students love Kardon Atlantic: https://vimeo.com/414746798/4abdcdcff2
Visit our website: https://kardon-atlantic.com/.”
The View and Vantage
“We are currently offering the “2020 On Us” special that allows students to move in at any point before the end of the calendar year (as early as today/tomorrow!) without having to pay rent until January. This year’s been long and hard enough, so we’re offering the opportunity for students to move in and get settled into their new home way ahead of the new year at no additional cost. As for the 2021-2022 school year, we are offering Owls our standard lease term (with the ability to relet, as always) and are continuing to focus on shaping our resident experience to be the best virtual classroom at Temple university. Additionally, we have encouraged all of our residents to apply for the city’s Rental Assistance program, which can provide rent relief for those negatively affected financially by the pandemic, and have held multiple informational sessions to assist with the process.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have relied on CDC, State and City COVID-19 safety protocols along with Temple University for guidance and have continued monitoring and adjusting our protocols accordingly, keeping the health and safety of our residents, staff and their families as the absolute top priority. From basics like increased, intensive cleaning and sanitization efforts building-wide to more advanced initiatives like our diverse array of virtual event programming, we’ve worked tirelessly to ensure that our residents can still live and learn alongside each other safely. The pandemic may have changed the way we operate, but at The View and Vantage community, college years aren’t over- they’ve just begun.”
University Village
“University Village focuses on creating and maintaining environments conducive to personal and academic success where residents are part of a community. The demand for student housing is clear. We continue to see students wanting to live in their college town regardless of the university’s curriculum delivery method.
For the upcoming spring semester, we are waiving upfront fees, reduced the first installments starting at $299, and offer the option to end leases in May versus a standard twelve-month lease.
For the 2021-2022 academic year we:
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have waived security deposits
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offer early bird pricing for the first 200 leases completed by 1/15/21
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and offer short term leasing (10 installment and 5 installment options).
When it comes to curbing the spread of COVID-19 it takes a collective and collaborative effort. Residents are required to sign a COVID-19 personal responsibility acknowledgment which includes a pledge to practice physical distancing, wear a face covering when required, and perform a daily wellness self-check list to identify any COVID-19 symptoms. Throughout the pandemic, we have empowered our residents and employees to be respectful of each other and our staff and have equipped them with our community disinfection and resident responsibility program, “Be safe. Be smart. Do your part.” in collaboration with Lysol. This program provides residents and employees with the procedures and educational training on the proper products, cleaning practices, and protocols to help maintain clean and disinfected environments at our communities across the country.”
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