Despite a lack of construction, development of new residence halls in the southern portion of campus is moving along steadily, with initial work on the Campus Village now expected as early as next summer.
The project, expected to allow for eight residence halls and a parking garage on the site of current facilities including Bates House and Cliff Apartments, was initially unveiled in 2015. Logistics have evolved since, including a decrease in the capacity of an expected parking garage from 3,000 spaces to 945 and the hiring of "safety guides" to prevent students from wandering through nearby neighborhoods.
Speaking for the university, USC associate director of public relations Jeff Stensland said the project's pace has allowed for ample input from nearby residents, especially concerns of heavy vehicle and foot traffic outside the planned 1,000-plus-bed Bates North and Bates South facilities.
"The design evolution reflects the typical process for a large, complex project, seeking to be a worthy addition to our campus, which involved many stakeholders," Stensland said.
Regarding neighborhood concerns of increased vehicle traffic, Stensland said that "it was important for the university to demonstrate that our approach to campus transportation has changed, and that we are placing more emphasis on optimized shuttle routes and pedestrian walkways to and from central campus."
According to Stensland, construction is expected to begin in summer or fall 2018 on the site of Cliff Apartments. Work on the site of Bates House is expected to start two years later, and the Carolina Gardens facility across the street is expected to begin construction in 2022. The university expects that students will be able to move into each facility two years after the start of construction, with occupy dates projected at 2020 for the Cliff Apartments site, 2022 for Bates and 2024 for Carolina Gardens.
Move-in dates for each facility were previously set one year earlier. Stensland said the slight delay came from time the university spent gathering input from the surrounding Wales Garden and Wheeler Hill neighborhoods, which both lie along the east side of Pickens Street. Neighborhood input was crucial to the project's development, as reaction to Campus Village was not exclusively positive in 2015.
Speaking for the Wheeler Hill Neighborhood Association shortly after initial plans were unveiled, Joseph Wray said that traffic along Pickens Street could become a "nightmare" barring university action in response to neighborhood concerns.
“Pickens Street is pretty bad for traffic now. We feel like if they put a lot of density on that side, it’s going to make traffic a lot worse,” Wray told The State in November 2015.
Through email correspondence, Wray said Monday that the neighborhoods involved were "satisfied" that the university properly addressed their concerns about Campus Village.
Stensland said the project does not yet have a definite price tag, but the university expects to find a developer by the end of 2017.