By Nicole Marshall

The Edge at Kutztown will be expanding across the street from its current location in order to keep up with the growing off campus housing demand for KU students.

The Edge property manager Vance Whetstone-Yacomes said that the expansion will include a full size gym, swimming pool and cottage style housing. He said this expansion is necessary in order to keep up with the off campus housing competition such as Advantage Point, which is set to start leasing in the upcoming school year.”

The growing competition for student housing in Kutztown has Whetstone-Yacomes determined to keep up with the other properties and draw students into the Edge with its new accommodations. Whetstone-Yacomes said the details of the expansion are still in the works and there is no final word on what exactly they will look like. However, the pool and fully equipped gym have been confirmed. The price is not currently set, but is definitely going to increase due to the new amenities.

The Edge’s new competitor is advantage Point, which will be a little closer to campus than the Edge and will be next to Golden Bear Village South. Advantage Point will have a spa-like pool and three apartment buildings five stories high. There will be a patio area furnished with a grill, outdoor volleyball court and a clubhouse.

“A main concern for on campus as well as off campus housing however is the drop in enrollment. Enrollment was set for 10,600 this year, but projected for 10,000 or less next year. This could cause a serious decrease in demand for housing. Due to this, The Edge plans to make the expansion a phase construction and add on when there is more demand for housing,” said Whetstone-Yacomes.

Director of Housing, Residence life and Dining Services, Kent Dahlquist, said he thinks the off-campus housing for students would be a wonderful opportunity. He also said that new construction is a lot safer and will create a better living environment for students.

Although there has been new construction and more off-campus housing, there has not been a significant decrease in on campus housing.
Dahlquist said, “Students are actually moving back on-campus for safety reasons.”

The lack of security in off-campus housing such as The Edge seems to create an uneasiness in students.

Freshman Gabby Noto said, “I would love to live in nice new apartments off campus like The Edge, but security issued worry me and I feel like they won’t be monitored as well as on campus.”

Junior Heather Kovacs, a current resident at the Edge and said, “I love living here and the new amenities like the gym and pool sound amazing. I wish they would be done while I was attending school here still.”

Freshman Joshua Martinez said, “I am excited to see what off-campus housing has to offer and I think the amenities and freedom in the off-campus housing are great.