FAU’s Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously agreed on Wednesday to construct a new student housing facility for the Boca Raton campus.

The new building, which will house 670 students for the Fall 2026 semester, is scheduled to be completed by July 2026. It will consist of three different room models. The BOT suggests constructing the facility next to Parliament Hall in one of the parking lots. This facility will be the first step in adding two more identical buildings next to it. 

Jayson Iroff, vice president of financial affairs for FAU, said the BOT conducted a survey in spring 2023 to analyze the demand for on-campus housing and students’ preferred housing types. They used the data to create a new residential hall building plan. 

Iroff explained that market analysis, a tool using qualitative and quantitative measures to predict future market changes, had projected that FAU’s abundant housing demands would be around 1,100- 1,200 beds by the fall of 2027. To combat this disparity, they hope to add 670 beds to remain consistent with current facilities’ offerings. 

“Price is currently driving more students to on-campus housing, but this is also moderated by the types of housing that we have… We are faced with making an informed decision which balances what students say they want and what they likely can afford,” Iroff said. 

According to Iroff, 75% of the suites will have three bedrooms and one bathroom, with a kitchenette and dining table but no living room. The other 25% will have four bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a kitchenette as well. Laundry and a full kitchen will be shared in community spaces. The third model will be reserved for resident assistants and provide a studio with a kitchenette. 

Rental rates for the new facility will be priced between the cost of a single room in a suite and a single room in an apartment because the style combines the two. 

“Historically, we have seen more juniors and seniors have wanted to move off campus. I think the type of housing available on campus versus off really plays into that consideration,” Larry Faerman, the vice president of student affairs, said. 

The building will be suited mainly for sophomores but will be a mixed living situation. Faerman explained that the halls closest to the Atlantic Dining Hall will remain for first-year students, and they anticipate that upperclassmen will want to remain in the apartment-style rooms.

“Now we’re going to be a lot less [expensive] than what the current market rates are, so from a standpoint of demand, which was something I was originally worried about, but I don’t think we have to worry about demand,” said Bob Rubin, chair of the FAU Finance Corporation.  

On Nov. 14, the BOT budget and finance committee unanimously recommended increasing the housing rates by 5% over the next three academic years, for a total of a 15% increase in 2027. In their meeting on Wednesday, they set a final approval of the motion. 

The Department of Housing and Residential Education sent an email to all FAU students on Jan. 1. The email informed students of the proposed increase and stated that their decision to increase is due to significantly increased operating costs. The school has not increased rates in eight years. 

Currently, the cost of living in a four bedroom and two bathroom model of Innovation Village Apartments is $5,180. Next year, it will increase to $5,418 and continue to increase until fall 2026 for a final cost of $5,918. 

A double room in Glades Park Towers currently costs $3,050, but this will increase to $3,540 by fall 2026.

Megan Bruinsma is a staff writer for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email her at mbruinsma2022@fau.edu or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma.