The NPC Board of Trustees met for their regular monthly meeting Wednesday. Vice president for administration, Kelli Embry provided an update regarding the recently approved on-campus housing project.
“Unfortunately, the project will be delayed,” said Embry. She explained that the initial approval to move forward with the pre-development agreement last month included cost estimations around $12-$13 million for the project’s total. Since then, quickly escalating interest rates and construction costs have increased the total to $17 million within weeks. Embry explained that the increase debt coverage and the team plans to regroup and consider other scenarios. “We will definitely not have an opening date of fall 2023, but we are looking to open as soon as possible. We are also looking at different scenarios as far as housing mix, location, and other details to see if we can identify some cost savings.”
The Board approved Resolution 2022-D last month for additional on-campus housing, one of four initiatives in phase one of the master plan.
The demand for on-campus housing was evident last spring. The College was able to triple many double rooms and create space for more students, but the supply still fell short of student demand. A significant shortage of beds is anticipated this fall based on current leasing data.
In January 2022, NPC released a request for qualifications (RFQ) to identify a partner that would be able to design, build, and furnish a new residence hall. A campus committee reviewed the applicants and recommended Servitas to the Board of Trustees. The College had hoped to open by fall of 2023 on an extremely compressed construction schedule. Delays to the financing agreements will make this unattainable.
NPC President, Dr. John Hogan said, "Delaying the housing project is disappointing, but it doesn’t take away from our determination to meet our students’ needs for safe and affordable housing options. We won’t allow road blocks to stand in the way of progress. We will reassess our options and move forward."
