Was it the stained, aging carpet in the hallways, the sweltering heat and lack of air conditioning or the fight for sinks in the shared bathrooms each morning that kept reminding you, “there’s no place like home….’’
These days, students also have come to dread the stress of moving every year in a relentless search for housing that accommodates their needs.
A major new apartment project on the UW-Madison campus reflects the changing expectations students and their parents have for living arrangements that can enhance academic life and provide a transition into the professional world. As UW-Madison attracts a growing share of world-class intellectual talent, the bar is being raised on the amenities and housing options these savvy students are seeking.
Madison apartment developer Steve Brown recognized the emerging trend several years ago and his latest project, the Lucky apartments, reflects his company’s careful market research. The project, more than two years in the planning and development, welcomes students to campus later this month.
Suffice it to say, Brown’s timing was fortuitous.
With 359 units, the Lucky apartments are part of the University Square development, a $190 million undertaking that represents the largest mixed-use redevelopment in the city of Madison. The project’s development partners include Steve Brown Apartments, Executive Management Inc. and UW–Madison.
The Lucky apartments occupy 10 stories of the development while retail space including a food court leased by Executive Management Inc. occupies the first and second levels of the development. UW–Madison will house its University Health Services, Student Activity Center, Office of the Registrar and Student Financial Services Office in a separate 11-story building in the development.
Jennifer Wedberg, marketing manager for Steve Brown Apartments, said more than 97 percent of the units are rented for the coming academic year — a sign the project has succeeded a previously unmet desire for higher quality housing in the campus area. The mix of options includes dedicated floors for university freshman, and like the university-owned dorms, will feature resident assistants to keep an eye on things.
Other floors feature high-quality apartments in a variety of configurations while units on the penthouse floors feature superior fixtures and finishes thanks to the interiors designed by Brownhouse Design of Madison.
There is no “unlucky” 13th floor in the building, Wedberg said. The apartment mix includes studios as well as units with one, two, three and four bedrooms.
“As we studied the local housing market, we determined there was a desire not only for quality, private housing options for freshman and other undergraduates, but upscale apartments for young professionals who want to live and work downtown,” Wedberg said. “The services at Lucky should prove opportune as they begin establishing their careers — we offer a 24-hour service desk, business center, lounges with Wi-Fi on every floor and a full-time, hotel-style concierge staff.”
The building also includes a multi-layer security system with cameras and key-card access as well as two floors of private parking.
The crowning detail is a 4-ton marble elephant named Lucky that welcomes visitors to the lobby. The elephant was carved in Rajasthan, India, as a mascot for the building because it is a symbol of good luck in some regions of Asia. Good fortune is expected to follow those who rub its trunk – an intangible, but welcome amenity for at exam time for the Lucky students.
Steve Brown Apartments owns 1,440 apartments in the Madison area.
Sereno, former business editor of the Wisconsin State Journal, is a senior manager at Wood Communications Group in Madison. E-mail jenny.sereno@wcgpr.com or call (608) 770-8084.
