Featured Photo by Kailee Shores
Story by Addison Conley
Murfreesboro will soon lose another affordable student housing complex after the purchase of Campus Crossings by Albion Residential.
The apartment complex was bought out about a year ago by Albion for $56 million, according to City of Murfreesboro property records.
What was originally a 252-unit rent-by-room student housing community is now undergoing renovations to become a luxury apartment complex.
McKenna Brown, a current tenant, said the renovated apartments will not be furnished and will no longer be rented by the room. Because the lease will be for the entire apartment, prospective tenants will need to know their roommates.
Rent increases will also take place. According to Albion, studios will start at $1,129, one-bedrooms will start at $1,505, two-bedrooms will start at $1,795, three-bedrooms will start at $1,875 and four-bedrooms will start at $2,000 a month. Every bedroom will have its own bathroom and most units will have balconies.
Under previous management, rooms were rented individually for $650-680 dollars each.
Although these renovations will improve the quality of the complex, many members of the community are not happy with how the new management is treating the residents.
Brown has been living at the complex for almost two years and has experienced both the old and new management. Brown said they have not noticed any positive changes since the new management took over.
They noted a change to the way the electric bill was handled. Under the previous management, residents used Simplebill, a website that broke down their electric usage, to pay their bill. They now simply add in a charge labeled “electric bill” where residents pay their rent online.
“I just had a $60 bill, and I don’t even know how much I used,” Brown said.
The electric bills Brown was used to previously amounted to around six dollars a month.
Brown said they were given the option to end her lease early because of the construction going on in her building. They said they were confused by the management giving conflicting information about the paperwork process to them and their fiancé. They are both still awaiting the paperwork.
Michelle Safewright, the director of housing at MTSU, said that the change will definitely impact students.
“Our numbers for students who want to return to live on-campus next year has increased by 200 from this time last year, and I am attributing that to the prices of apartments going up so much in the immediate area,” said Safewright.
Campus Crossings is not the first student housing complex to get bought out and renovated. With rents skyrocketing throughout Murfreesboro, students will be faced with more difficulty finding affordable housing in the area.
87% of MTSU students live off campus, according to U.S. News & World Report L.P. With such high demand for rental properties among the off-campus student population, many MTSU students are sure to be affected.
Addison Conley is a reporter for MTSU Sidelines.
To contact News Editor Kailee Shores and Assistant News Editor Alyssa Williams, email newseditor@mtsusidelines.com.
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