MSU to pay to put 100 Sunvilla students in hotels — for up to a month

An extensive overhaul of Sunvilla Tower, a residence hall at Missouri State University, is taking longer than expected.

Seven of the 19 floors will not be ready when classes start Aug. 17.

The university announced 100 of the estimated 265 students planning to live in the renovated apartment complex, located at the corner of Elm Street and John Q. Hammons Parkway, will not be able to move in until mid-September.

Students living on floors 3-9 will be temporarily housed in nearby hotels, for up to a month, and given other perks to help make up for the inconvenience. Those living on floors 10-19 will be able to move into Sunvilla on Aug. 10, as scheduled.

“We made phone calls last Friday. We contacted each resident who has been assigned to a room in floors 3-9,” said Gary Stewart, director of residence life, housing and dining services. “They were like ‘OK.’ They’ll roll with it. They appreciated the advance notice.”

The university is prepared to spend up to $200,000 to provide extra support for the temporarily displaced students:

•They will be housed in either the University Plaza or Holiday Inn, one student to a bed with up to two students in a room. Students will be able to access all hotel amenities, including breakfast and housekeeping service, at no cost to them.

•Students who receive financial aid will receive a credit on their account for the days they did not occupy their apartment.

•Bear Line shuttles, which transport students to various university buildings on the main campus and downtown, will be available to pick up and drop off students at the hotels.

•Students will be able to eat in the campus dining centers, at no charge to them, while they are living in the hotels. If they previously signed up for a meal plan, they will receive a credit for the time they are displaced.

•A staff member will live in each hotel to assist students and answer questions.

•Students will receive $50 in “Boomer Meals” on their BearPass cards, which can be used to buy meals at any vendor in the Plaster Student Union.

•Students’ mail will be delivered to Sunvilla, which will be open so students can pick up their mail whenever it is convenient for them. The university will collect cellphone numbers so staff can text students if they receive a package.

•Students will have access to the laundry facilities at Sunvilla as soon as they are completed.

Suzanne Shaw, vice president of marketing and communications, said the university is taking extra steps — to provide food, lodging, shuttle and storage — to ease the situation while students are temporarily displaced. The $200,000 that MSU expects to pay will come from an emergency residential life fund; the university estimates $170,000 at the low end of the cost.

“Our goal is to make it as convenient as possible for the students while working hard to get them moved into Sunvilla as quickly as possible,” Shaw said.

The high-rise apartment complex was built in 1963 and bought by the university in 1976, but interest in the older building dropped in recent years. Three years ago, the university had removed stoves from the apartments because they lacked sprinklers.

The $13 million project to renovate Sunvilla, which includes major safety upgrades, started more than a year ago. Stewart said crews “worked top to bottom” and it became apparent in recent weeks that the lower floors would not be ready.

“Anytime you remodel or renovate, there are things that are unknown,” Stewart said.

Increased interest in off-campus housing spurred the university to renovate the tower, offer lower rates and market it to upperclassmen. Stewart said the approach paid off because the residence hall, which will once again have full kitchens, filled quickly. “We have a waiting list,” he said.

Stewart said when Sunvilla is open, the university will be able to house up to 4,000 students in residence halls.

At Sunvilla, there are apartments of different sizes, accommodating between one and four students, and the complex stays open during breaks and does not require students pay for a meal plan.

A yearly contract ranges from $6,624 to $7,224 — or roughly $600 a month.

Stewart said displaced students have been asked to bring only what they need to live in the hotel until they can move into Sunvilla. However, if they have a lot of extra stuff, storage space will be made available.

It is not yet clear where the extra items will be stored. Stewart said he is looking into portable storage units that can be placed on the Sunvilla lot. Shaw said the university may also use secure storage space available elsewhere on campus.

“I haven’t solved the storage problem yet,” Stewart said. “I am still waiting to hear back from students about what they need.”