COLLEGE TOWN, FL — Developers broke ground on new affordable student housing near FAMU as demand for close-to-campus living grows.
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Construction is underway on a new phase of affordable student housing near Florida A&M University, as developers move forward with plans to expand living options for students close to campus.
The groundbreaking marks the latest step in a larger effort to address a long-standing housing challenge for FAMU students: finding affordable options within walking distance of campus.
Christopher Daniels, a developer and director of Smart Capitol, says the project builds on work already completed in the area.
"Super excited. We're getting ready to get started on a brand new student housing development project. So we finished up four on this block in particular, and we started up on two more," Daniels said.
The development is part of a broader wave of investment in the College Town neighborhood. Daniels says other developers and organizations are contributing to the area's growth.
"The great thing is there's also a lot of outside of our company in general. There's also a lot of people who are investing as well...There's other developers in the neighborhood who are coming and building a house. Habitat for Humanity is building five or six houses across the street from here, so a lot of development is happening in the neighborhood, bringing a lot of life back to the area," Daniels said.
Daniels says the demand for housing near campus is driving the urgency behind the project.
"So many people are looking for a place to live right now, so like this July, August, going into the new school year, a lot of people applied to live on campus and were unable to live on campus for whatever reason. So now those people are looking for a place to stay, but they want to stay close, right? So the more housing that we could build as close as the equivalent of living on campus, the better," Daniels said.
Each new building, Daniels says, is another investment in a neighborhood with deep ties to Florida A&M, turning vacant properties into opportunities for students to live closer to campus.
The long-term goal is to continue building affordable housing that serves FAMU students while strengthening the surrounding neighborhoods for years to come.
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