As residence halls have exceeded capacity on San Diego State’s campus, alternative housing is cropping up to provide for the demand.
But the new off-campus housing, which is unaffiliated with SDSU, is different than a typical apartment complex.
Granada on Hardy, which is responsible for the construction near Fraternity Row, is one such building. With room for 180 students, the
Atlanta-based company Place Properties owns Granada on Hardy. The third-party management system focuses on student and military housing.
Michelle Swenson, property manager at The Granada, said the complex is set to open Aug. 18.
The new complex, along with Sterling Collwood a few blocks away, offers something the residence halls do not: sustainability.
Granada on Hardy is opening its doors roughly one year after another eco-friendly building, Sterling Collwood, debuted. Both complexes are Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified, which means certain ecological and energy-efficient measures were required when constructing the buildings. Solar panels and recycled building materials are a couple of ways these complexes strive to be sustainable.
Sterling Collwood has seen success with LEED certification. According to property manager Holli Fisher, 97.5 percent of the units are occupied, and all the solar-powered apartments have full residency.
Fisher said she thinks it’s positive for the community to have more sustainable apartments in the area and she does not foresee The Granada impacting Sterling Collwood.
Senior Taylor Ashley said initially finding a sustainable place to live was not his biggest concern. But he changed his mind once he realized the eco-friendly amenities at Collwood were helpful.
“The shuttle service to campus helped persuade me to live here,” he said. “I have my own room at Sterling Collwood, which is more expensive, but I really enjoy the privacy and extra living space.”
Swenson said she thinks LEED housing will continue to grow in popularity. “It’s a breath of fresh air,” she said.
The recent influx of students bodes well for the new apartments and it’s not hard to see why two LEED buildings opened in such a short time period. SDSU is well known for having an active environmental community, which includes Green Love, the annual GreenFest and the weekly farmers markets on Campanile Walkway.
With so much environmental activism already in place, off-campus LEED-certified housing may benefit from the demand for greener living.
However, living green doesn’t exactly mean saving green. A single room at Granada starts at $1,000 a month and $800 at Sterling Collwood.
