What was once the FairBridge Inn, situated behind the McDonald’s on Pullman Road, has since been transformed into the North Campus Communities (NCC), the latest housing option available to returning University of Idaho students.
Last year, the property was used to harbor groups of overflow students who interpreted their circumstances as a temporary stay while awaiting to be moved somewhere else on-campus. Now, there are approximately 160 residents living at the new residence hall, which has gained the capacity to lodge students for the next five years.
John Kosh, the director of business development, marketing and communications for UI Auxiliary Services, recognized the importance of making proactive decisions to avoid encountering similar mistakes made during the project’s original undertaking.
“We were not going to be caught flat-footed, and we were going to find a solution,” said Kosh.
This meant a lease was pursued rather than individual rooms being rented out from the FairBridge again.
“We’re not putting them up in a hotel, we are taking over the hotel,” Kosh said.
The decision to move forward with this project was made by Auxiliary Services in conjunction with Housing and Residence Life. The motivation for doing so was sparked by concerns of an increase in freshmen enrollment.
Converting the motel into functional housing before this fall’s group of students arrived was a challenging feat. The process included the removal and replacement of furniture, an extensive cleaning operation, inspections of updated spaces, the construction of new spaces and several other cosmetic updates.
After the completion of its reinvention, the NCC welcomed UI students and staff members at the start of the semester including sophomore, Amelia Husted.
“I didn’t go into it with a ton of expectations, and so far, it’s been nice,” said Husted. “The walk is interesting. It can be inconvenient sometimes.”
Unlike the previous group of students who lived here, those currently living at the NCC were notified in advance of their rooming assignment, seemingly well aware that they would be living in an old motel building located across a large highway from campus and a few blocks away from the nearest intersection accessible for pedestrian use.
In accommodation, people living at the NCC are offered free parking, a continental breakfast in the morning and air conditioning in their rooms. However, in addition to its distance from campus, the limited sense of privacy, lack of interactive communal spaces and insufficient number of trash dumpsters has bothered some residents such as Saphal Giri, a sophomore.
“If you don’t want to sit in your room, you want to get out, there’s not a space like that at all,” Giri said. “I find the rooms are good, but there are some key factors which the university is not helping the students with.”
Giri also noted his frustration concerning his hot water temporarily not working and how he’s confined to sharing a singular desk with his roommate. Although, when asked how he might feel in hindsight about living some of his college days in a what-used-to-be-motel, Giri said it was a “bit exciting.”
Though challenges have started to present themselves during its debut, the NCC’s establishment as an additional option for returning students seeking housing in a consistently growing community is a beneficial accomplishment in and of itself. Moving forward, university staff are open to exploring ways they can enhance and improve upon the student experience fostered by the new residence hall.
“They’re going to find things that will be really helpful to have…let us know what we can do to make this better,” said Kosh. “As long as they’re there, they [should] feel like they’re a part of the Vandal family. We refuse to have them on an island.”
Herman Roberts can be reached at [email protected]