WU property appeals to off-campus housing group

By Jonathan McFadden

mcfaddenj@thejohnsonian.com

Walk2Campus Properties could potentially turn the Lodge into residence space available for lease if the company purchase the property from Winthrop. Graphic by Shatesha Scales • scaless@thejohnsonian.comWalk2Campus Properties won a bid to purchase the Lodge, a privately-owned motor lodge on Oakland Avenue that was purchased by Winthrop in the 1980s to be used as additional student housing. 

Brad Hastings, owner of Walk2Campus, said the bidding contract is currently in the due diligence process, which means Walk2Campus is working with zoning officials to ensure the project receives the zoning it needs. 

Hastings said they are also making sure the building costs aren’t out of line with their original assumptions and that students will actually lease the product. 

“All of those questions need to be answered before we could move forward with the project,” Hastings said. 

While there is no definite answer as to what the project could potentially cost, Hastings said if the project were to be approved, then there are a number of possibilities Walk2Campus could explore with the Lodge, ranging “from renovation to new build.” 

Kathy Bigham, chair of the Winthrop University Board of Trustees, said that while she cannot say too much about the legalities and contractual matters of the purchase, she thinks the news about the Lodge will be positive.

Winthrop purchased the Lodge in the 1980s to provide housing for students after a surge in enrollment in 1979. After the Courtyard was built in 2002, students who lived in the Lodge were trasnferred there. Since then, the space has been used for storage and studio space for art students. There are no immediate plans as to what Walk2Campus may do with the Lodge if they purchase it. Photos by Paul Riccardi • riccardip@thejohnsonian.comRebecca Masters, assistant to the president for public affairs, said that when the Courtyard was completed in December 2002, students living in the Lodge were transferred there. Since then, the front space of the Lodge, which faces Oakland Avenue, has been used as offices for Facilities Design and Development staff, Telephone Services staff and even as studio space for art students from time to time.

“The remainder of the space has been used for storage,” Masters said. 

Masters said that, over the summer, telephone services was moved to an Oakland Avenue location closer to campus. The Lodge is still used for storage. 

Walk2Campus has enjoyed a beneficial relationship with Winthrop. 

The off-campus student housing company, which began with Longwood University in Farmville, Va., wanted to discover another market.

Hastings said that, after a search, Winthrop proved to be a school that was similar to Longwood in size and trajectory and was a good market to provide safe, higher-end housing close to campus. 

Another Walk2Campus location includes SUNY Cortland in Cortland, N.Y.