Calvin College is adding a new item to the menu of housing options for its upperclass students.

The college has purchased a 144-unit apartment complex approximately one mile east of its campus and plans to make it part of its mix of places juniors and seniors can live.

, which is situated just south of Burton Street and just east of East Paris, will provide one more good alternative for Calvin students says Calvin dean of residence life John Witte.

"Many students want the real-world experience of signing leases, controlling costs through paying their own utilities and deciding on their own number of roommates," he says. "And off-campus renters also want a good relationship with their landlord. With Calvin as the owner of the property, students can trust that the property will be managed well. But as an off-campus setting, this (housing) option also is outside the 'Calvin bubble,' to use student jargon. So it becomes a really nice complement to our current housing options."

Witte notes that students living at Glen Oaks East would feel some separation from campus physically, and would live in a more real-world neighborhood with non-student neighbors. But neighbors might also include married students, recent graduates, Calvin Theological Seminary students or new Calvin faculty.

"And," he says, "students will see some marks of Calvin College, in optional programming, spiritual growth opportunities, potential Service-Learning partnerships, and other Calvin-related programs that can and will develop there."

Calvin plans to make apartments at Glen Oaks East available to its students as apartments become available. Witte is quick to state that the college will not force any current lease holders to leave if they do not want to, and will continue to renew leases and operate Glen Oaks East as an apartment complex open to the public.

For Calvin students, he says, the living situation at Glen Oaks East will be similar to Calvin's on-campus Knollcrest East apartments, but also different.

"Apartment living is different then living in a house, and Knollcrest East and Glen Oaks East are both apartment communities. But Knollcrest East living has some distinct advantages for some students, including individual pricing, more free services, such as laundry and computer labs, and furnished apartments. Likewise, Glen Oaks East will have advantages for some students, including lower pricing, more independent living and a neighborhood feel."

Calvin vice president for student life Shirley Hoogstra says Calvin had been looking into expanding options for student housing for several years.

"This property immediately looked appealing," she says. "Our on-campus options are almost full, and new buildings on campus, though part of our long-term goals, are much more expensive to construct. We place a high value on students living in intentional community with one another and speculated that if Calvin was the landlord, some students would consider this option for their housing, providing a place for a community of students to develop over time."

She also notes that Glen Oaks East generates revenue and should ultimately pay for itself.

"It will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Calvin College," she says, "and will not have tax-exempt status."

Calvin officials took a number of students to tour the property, including a delegation from Student Senate, and all came back with positive feedback about the possibilities.

Witte says that Calvin has around 1,500 students living off campus, in a wide variety of settings in the Grand Rapids area.