Auburn hits brakes on new student housing projects fearing supply outweighs demand

Published 7:48 am Tuesday, December 10, 2019

A college town in Alabama proposed temporarily halting construction on any new student housing developments in the city amid concerns the number of existing facilities exceeds the amount of students.

Auburn Mayor Ron Anders proposed an ordinance at last week’s city council meeting that would halt new student housing developments for about 90 days to give leaders time to figure out a long-term solution, the Opelika-Auburn news reported on Friday.

Ongoing complaints from residents and businesses about the rising number of student developments in the city prompted the council to form a task force about a year ago, the newspaper reported.

Data from its efforts showed the number of beds in the city designed specifically for students is too high at approximately 37,000, Anders said.

At the same time, Auburn University officials say the school is expected to maintain consistent undergraduate enrollment at about 25,000 students with no significant growth foretasted.

The ordinance will be introduced at the council’s Dec. 17 meeting.