Lakeside apartments to replace Hibben, Magie

The last grad students living at the Hibben and Magie apartments have been moving out as the University prepares to demolish the eight-story structures, built along Lake Carnegie in the early 1960s.

Replacing them will be the Lakeside graduate community, a cluster of apartment buildings, townhomes, common areas, and a 4½-story parking garage. Lakeside, scheduled to open in the summer of 2014, will house 715 residents in 329 units.

“Lakeside is a great step forward — it will be a beautiful and much-improved community for graduate students,” said Andrew Kane, director of housing and real-estate services. He said the mix of apartment types — including larger units with three bedrooms and three bathrooms — grew out of focus groups and surveys of grad students. 

A private developer — American Campus Communities of Austin, Texas — will construct and manage the project. 

The buildings, which will range from two to five stories in height, will have facades of brick and clay-tile shingles. The University will seek LEED silver certification for the buildings, which will use geothermal heating and cooling.

Additional housing will be provided for grad students for the next two years in the 154-unit Stanworth Apartments along Route 206, which previously were used by faculty and staff. But although the University will continue its stated commitment to provide housing for at least 70 percent of all regularly enrolled grad students, the capacity of University facilities will be reduced from last year’s level by about 100 students for the next two years. Kane said in early June that the University was conferring with neighboring institutions to see if temporary housing would be available.

Once the Lakeside complex is completed, the University plans to demolish the Butler tract. The 60-year-old barracks-style units house about 370 grad students.