Housing

When UTSA first opened, all students commuted to the campus. The original master plan included areas that could be developed for housing, but no housing was built in the first phase of construction. In the 1980s, the university decided that housing was needed, and the 500-bed Chisholm Hall was built. In the 1990s, the University Oaks Apartments were added.

Additional housing will allow UTSA to enroll more students who come from locations beyond the metropolitan area. It will also allow more students who would like to move away from home to live on campus. Both of these factors support the university's goal of becoming an institution of first choice. Having more students living on campus will also make the campus a more active place, another goal for the master plan.

Establishing first-class housing is a prime way for UTSA to further recruitment of top students. For UTSA’s academic and research programs to enroll the types of students they need to achieve prominence on the scale which the university seeks, the university’s housing must compare with housing being built at top-tier universities.

Chaparral Village is an important step in that direction, and future housing should be even better. Campus housing should not just provide places for students to live, but should create an environment for learning which students cannot obtain anywhere else. The housing types built on campus should reflect this. For example, common areas should be located close to and under the same roof as student rooms and suites so that students are encouraged to gather and socialize. The building should have a common entry point which will serve as the primary point of information dissemination. A wide variety of different room and suite types should be included in the housing so that students with different housing preferences are well accommodated, and provision should be made for handicapped access to all parts of the building, even if accessible units are located in specific areas. Larger housing sites should have dining located in conjunction with the housing. Expensive construction types are not required; rather, the suitability of the design to the creation of a collegiate atmosphere is paramount.

Housing will be located in three areas of the campus. Chisholm Hall will become one of several residential buildings on the northwest side. The approximately 2,600 residents of these buildings will have direct access to a large new dining facility capable of serving at least 1,000 students. The University Oaks, located southwest of the academic buildings, will continue to provide apartment housing. As the University Oaks development ages, however, portions of it will be removed and replaced by other facilities. The eastern portion of the apartments will give way to a special events center, and the remainder will be replaced by first-class housing as described previously.

The third housing site is located on the east side of campus. Two 600- to 700-bed developments along Valero Way and a third facility next to the commons green will provide a variety of graduate and undergraduate housing. A dining and recreation facility will be part of this development.

The housing development located next to the campus commons should be a special facility. Consideration should be given to allocating some housing here to faculty members, and some space in the facility should be reserved for upper-level and graduate science and engineering students.

Housing facilities mentioned above will house about 5,600 students, which is short of the university’s goal of housing 6,200 students at the 1604 Campus. The shortfall of 600 beds should be made up with off-campus housing located future land acquisitions.