University housing 'may have outlived its purpose'

Arizona Daily Wildcat Christopher City: The UA's family housing complex, 3401 N. Columbus Blvd., is still home for many students with families, regardless of two-year-old plans to relocate closer to campus.

Ignored for years, the University of Arizona's family housing complex shows the signs of aging.

Despite a two-year-old plan to relocate the complex, the move still requires approval from the Arizona Board of Regents to get underway.

The Christopher City project has been stalled, James Van Arsdel, the director of Residence Life said, because the the need to resolve the Memorial Student Union and Integrated Instructional Facility projects have gotten more attention.

The delay in moving from the one-level, 356-unit complex operated by the UA, was a result of priorities and limited time faced by those in charge of putting forth projects, he said.

In October 1995, Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Life Saundra Taylor presented a plan for the relocation of Christopher City. Her efforts were spurned by an effort to improve family housing for UA students.

In the same month a preliminary decision was reachedto relocate the complex.

But almost two years later, construction is no where near beginning, Van Arsdel said.

"The Board of Regents have a very ritualized process we're expected to go through (before construction can begin)," he said.

The first step in the process is the board's approval of project initiation. He said he is hoping this can be done in the spring.

Distance a hinderance

The apartment complex, 3401 N. Columbus Blvd., is about five miles from the university, just north of Ft. Lowell Road.

Van Arsdel said the 35-year-old facility is functionally obsolete. He said technology- or the lack thereof- is one of the complex's problems. The apartment's computer lab lacks connections to the Ethernet, a luxury found in all of the residence halls, he said.

"We feel we ought to be doing this for families as well," Van Arsdel said.

Creating connections at Christopher City's existing location would be difficult because the complex is so far away from the UA, but moving the complex closer to the UA would make data connections easier, he said.

"The facility is aging rapidly," said David Currey, the director of international student programs and services in the global student center.

He said that while the facility is old, it has a pool and is close to a YMCA, which makes recreation for families for convenient.

However, he said, "It (the complex) may have outlived its purpose."

Marie Burke, a second year library sciences graduate student, said there is another way to look at the issue.

She thinks it is humorous to tell people she lives in university-run family housing that is five miles away from the university.

Currey said Christopher City offers a lot of advantages for families, including a close-knit community.

"I guess my impression is that you need a sense of community out there that may be hard to duplicate in another location," he said.

But, "I have concerns," Currey said. "The present location is not very convenient for those without their own transportation."

Burke agreed that traveling to and from campus has its problems.

"The bus is OK," Burke said, " (but) it's a hassle to schedule things that way."

She said using the bus during the week nights is not too much of an inconvenience because it runs until about 9 p.m. Sundays though can be a problem, Burke said, because the buses only run until 4 p.m., whereas the UA Main Library is open much later.

Tenant complaints

Aside from losing its functionality, the complex also has had a two-year history of other problems. Residents have complained of cockroach infestations and sewer backups.

Burke said when she first moved into the complex a year and a half ago the apartment was infested with roaches. As a result, she said she transferred to another apartment in a different area of the complex. Since then she has not had any problems except for the occasional cricket.

Van Arsdel said past problems were usually related to residents' actions rather than the building's age.

The roach infestation, for example, is the kind of thing that comes and goes, he said. He added the presence of roaches depends a lot on how residents keep their apartments.

Sewer problems, he said, were caused by residents, especially children, flushing things down the toilet that do not belong there. As a result of reported sewer problems, Van Arsdel said a regular interval for snaking out the lines has been implemented.

In addition, the presence of asbestos has recently been discovered in the complex, Van Arsdel said. The asbestos is in the taping compound used to tape the dry wall and does not present a health as long as the walls are covered with paint, he said.

"There's really nothing we are going to do to change it," he said.

Asbestos is found in many buildings on campus, he added.

Proposed sites

Van Arsdel said UA is looking at two sites close to campus for Christopher City's relocation.

"(We want) to bring that population more into being part of the campus community."

Some Christopher City residents were looking forward to the move..

"It would only make sense to have it close," Burke said.

One UA-owned site Van Arsdel called "an excellent location," is the northeast corner of North Euclid Avenue and East Fifth Street. One- and two- bedroom units are proposed to be built at this location.

The second proposed site is located at North Park Avenue and East Ninth Street and will consist of three-bedroom units for families with children. This area is owned by Tucson Unified School District, Van Arsdel said.

Although the UA likes these two locations for a new family housing complex, Van Arsdel said there is no guarantee these sites will be used.

He said it is too early to guess at the project's cost. An estimated 300 to 350 units will be built when the complex is moved.

The project will be financed jointly by sale of the land currently occupied by the complex and incoming rent from the tenants in the new apartments.

Since the '60s, the university has provided students who have families with a place to call home.

Students with families have the option of finding their own housing around Tucson, Van Arsdel said. Regardless of this, he said, the university needs to offer family housing to provide a strong sense of community for campus.

"We value students with families as much as without families and we feel we should provide housing," he said.