Campus administration originally believed that married students were a unique situation directly related to the influx of veterans and others returning to school after World War II. By 1968, campus administration realized that married students were not a unique situation, since they composed one-sixth of the student body. The University soon faced a housing shortage for marriage students since it had only 219 housing units for nearly 1,000 married students. Housing officials and the University decided that the best remedy for the situation was to construct a 300 unit-housing complex (at the cost of $3 million) on the Old Fairgrounds (Fargo Forum, March 24, 1968, C-1).
The plans called for twenty-five two-story town houses (two bedrooms each) that would house 192 married students and five three-story walk-up apartments (one bedroom each) that would house seventy-nine families. The new cost was estimated at $3.2 million. The funding came from a $2 million dollar loan from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and $1.2 million from a private bond issue. Construction on the new housing complex (tentatively termed University Village) got underway in the spring of 1969.
The first students moved into University Village in the fall of 1969. The students were content with the new housing and ignored names like "Ticky Tacky Boxes" when people referred to the Village. Many of the students liked the kitchen facilities, the large amount of storage space the apartments provided and the apartment's floorplan.
Student satisfaction with the new housing soon waned. During the winter of 1970, drafts came in through the windows and doors leading one family to place blankets along the bottom of the door and around the doorknob. Residents saw their utility bills soar from $10 per month to $30 dollars per month. The stairs were not matted and were extremely noisy when used. Complaints were also registered regarding paint coming off the walls and the black paint on the stairs that readily showed the dirt and daily wear. The Housing Administration did its best to improve the doors and windows and the problem with flaking paint.
In
October of 2000, the F Court apartment building in University Village had a
fire, which caused extensive damage to the building. The building was
torn down and a new F Court apartment building was built at a cost of $2.3 million
and opened for the fall term in 2002. “The new F Court has a capacity
of 120 beds in 30 two-bedroom apartments. Each floor has 10 apartment
units and laundry facilities. The apartments are furnished; have a kitchen
with a microwave, oven and dishwasher; two bathrooms; walk-in closets; cable
television; air conditioning; and Internet access.” ( It's Happening ,
August 28, 2002 , p.1)
Today, University Village is open to married students, graduate students and undergraduate students.
Architectural Information
Johnson & Lightowler, architects.
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univarchives@www.lib.ndsu.nodak.edu
University Archives, 701-231-8914 Published by the University Archives, NDSU Last Updated: 8/27/04 |