About 60 students registered to live in Taylor Place this semester are still without rooms, a decline by half from two weeks ago, but an overflow that could still cost ASU thousands per night.
As of Friday, 57 students do not have a room in Taylor Place and are expected to live in the Westin Phoenix Downtown at the beginning of the semester, Downtown campus spokesman Marshall Terrill said.
Terrill said ASU will pay the Westin $100 per night per room — a 50 percent discount from the Westin’s usual rate. But the bill for ASU could still run into the thousands.
While the number of students in the Westin has dropped from about 125 on July 25, the rate has slowed. The number fell by only one student from Aug. 7 to Aug. 9, compared to the two to three students per day a couple weeks ago, Terrill said.
ASU officials expect all students will have a room in Taylor Place within the first two weeks of the semester.
Katie Brashear, director of public relations for Westin Phoenix Downtown, wouldn’t discuss contract terms, but did confirm that ASU students are expected to spend several days in the hotel.
The arrangement and number of rooms hasn’t been determined yet, since “it’s kind of a fluid situation,” she said.
Downtown Dean of Students Georgeana Montoya said they hope to secure one or two full floors of the hotel, depending on the number of students.
Two students will be sharing each room furnished with two queen beds. There will also be an ASU professional staff member and at least one student community assistant staying at the hotel.
“We’ve been trying to make sure Taylor Place is at capacity for the past five years and this is the first year that we may actually make that,” Montoya said.
“We’re growing, and that’s what we want,” she said.
Housing students in a hotel until space becomes available is common on the Tempe campus, but this is the first time Taylor Place has experienced an overflow.
When Montoya worked on the Tempe campus from 2000-2006, she said they usually housed 80-120 students in the nearby Twin Palms Hotel.
While Montoya and other officials agree that this problem is ultimately a good sign for the campus, some parents of Downtown students knew about the overflow before the campus deans did.
Only after these parents raised the issue were the deans informed.
In an email to Montoya on July 25, Christopher Callahan, dean of the Walter Cronkite School and vice provost of the Downtown campus, expressed some frustration that he hadn’t known about the situation earlier.
“Just so you know, I got blindsided by some parents who were told about this. I wish I had a heads up,” Callahan wrote.
ASU began looking for extra housing on July 24 after estimates for the number of students expected on campus began to level off.
Callahan asked for an update and for the rest of the deans to be brought up to speed as well. About half an hour after Callahan’s email, Montoya sent out an email to the rest of the Downtown deans explaining the situation.
At the time, ASU officials were still looking into the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel and the Westin for temporary housing.
ASU came to an agreement with the Westin on July 29 and the next day emails started going out to overbooked students.
To find space in Taylor Place, Downtown officials have been calling students who registered for housing but had not signed up for classes to see if they were still planning to attend ASU.
“Nationally, students apply to multiple institutions and narrow their decision as the fall semester approaches,” Terrill said in an email. “Some make last minute decisions, especially students from out of state.”
The main reason for Taylor Place reaching capacity this year is the growth of the campus as a whole and more interest in the programs offered Downtown, Montoya and Terrill said.
Enrollment has more than doubled since Taylor Place opened in 2008. It will likely top 10,000 this year.
In addition, 7 percent more upperclassmen are returning to the dorms this year compared to last year. As of Friday, 352 upperclassmen are going to live on campus, while 328 did so last year.
Also limiting available beds are so-called “super single” rooms in Taylor Place Tower I that normally fit two students, but are only holding one.
Montoya said it is too early to know how Taylor Place likely reaching capacity will impact housing plans on campus.
In about a month, ASU officials will look at the enrollment numbers to determine what, if any, on-campus housing needs to be constructed Downtown.
Montoya said there has to be enough demand to build a large structure, and having an overflow of 40-60 people may not suffice.
“When you build a new building, you can’t build 100 spaces. You usually have to build at least 350-500,” she said. “Do we truly believe that we are ready for a new building?”
Housing facilities were recently expanded on both the West and Polytechnic campuses, though Terrill said neither has yet experienced an overflow.
Move-in across all ASU campuses begins this weekend.
Contact the reporter at connor.radnovich@asu.edu
