Texas State combats housing shortage by purchasing apartments, current residents feel uncertain

By Preethi Mangadu 

News & Culture Director 

SAN MARCOS — After purchasing the property in December, Texas State University owns and manages the Vistas and Sanctuary Lofts, two apartment buildings in downtown San Marcos.  

Like Bobcat Village, the properties now serve as TXST apartment living complexes that are meant to help the current campus housing shortage. However, there are mixed feelings among residents about the sudden change. 

The housing shortage at TXST

Since President Kelly Damphousse implemented the Hopes & Aspirations High vision, Texas State has been pushing for higher enrollment numbers. Last fall, TXST had its largest freshmen class and reported an enrollment of 38,722 students. 

With increased enrollment, comes the question, “Is there enough housing?” The Director of Housing and Residential Life Bill Mattera said there is not enough for the current student population based on a housing demand study the university did.  

“The data shows us about 18,000 Off Campus beds in the community plus our 7,000,” said Mattera. “We’re short somewhere about 10 to 12,000 beds in the community as a whole.” 

While the student population growth is a factor, the Hilltop Housing Complex and Canyon Residence Hall are being built to house the larger incoming classes. The TXST apartment living complexes will be prioritizing upperclassmen.  

“In the long run, our hope is to prioritize juniors and seniors and build some level in our operations,” Mattera said. “But with our current inventory, that will really be the options between Bobcat Villages, the Vistas, and Sanctuary as our apartment inventory to house any student who’s not a first-year student.” 

Reasons for purchasing rather than building 

A primary reason for purchasing the Vistas and Sanctuary Lofts is location. There are not many living options near campus. With TXST owning these buildings, students wanting to live near campus have more access to more choices.  

Another reason is affordability. This move makes living close to or on campus more affordable than other apartments in the area, according to Mattera.  

“The rent rates in San Marcos property have gone up by 42% in the last four years, compared to on-campus housing, which has gone up by 11%,” Mattera said. “So the ability to just maintain some properties for students who want to stay on campus in an affordable market is what our priority is.”  

Lastly, Mattera said buying apartments rather than building new properties is overall more cost-efficient. 

“An already completed project that was built in a different inflationary time is less expensive than building right now,” Mattera said. “If you know anything about construction, plumbing is the most expensive part of a construction project. So when we ran the financials, buying apartments was more fiscally responsible than building apartments in the current market.” 

Housing contracts instead of leases 

The leasing and rent processes will be changing under the new TXST management. Students can live in the Vistas and Sanctuary Lofts under 10-month housing contracts.  

Housing contracts include all-inclusive rent — rent including utilities and other charges — and housing fees added directly to the student fee bill per semester. There will also be the possibility to extend the contract to live in the apartments during summer.  

The rates range between $8,000 to $11,500 at both buildings depending on the size and amount of rooms. A complete list of the proposed rates can be found here. 

“One of the things we looked at is Bobcat villages as a baseline for market rent,” Mattera said. “So we already have apartments on inventory, and most of the apartments will shift into a model closer to that.” 

While many of the residents in the building are TXST students, those who are not won’t be able to renew their leases and must move out at the end of their current lease. 

Opinions from residents

TXST management took over in January for both complexes. Current residents are adjusting to the changes but there is uncertainty if it will be beneficial.  

“It’s still the same building, which again, is kind of like making me skeptical about whether or not this deal is actually going to be beneficial to anyone that’s already living there,” said Vistas resident and TXST student Mason Dodd. “Aside from the reduced cost, with the new 10-month contract that’s going to be implemented next semester, nothing else has really clearly changed.”  

Dodd has been living at the Vistas for almost two years now. He said the new management has been better than the previous one but is not sure if this will help the overall campus shortage.  

“I don’t really know if this is something that’s going to help them in the long run,” Dodd said. “I do think that giant building the quad might to some degree, but we need to stop taking so many students every year until we can actually start fitting them.”  

Other residents have been expressing mixed feelings as well. Vistas resident and TXST student Rodrigo Pandal said while there have been benefits — like faster maintenance, needed renovations and the front office having longer hours — there are negatives, too, that range from expenses to TXST dorm regulations.  

“The people that I know that have cars have been complaining a lot about it because they’ve raised the parking price from $35 a month, which is already in like a good amount, to now $75 a month,” said Pandal. “There are a lot of other small negative things like, for example, now that it’s a dorm or considered a dorm, we will be having RAs, will have to do meetings with RDs and stuff like that.”

Pandal’s main anger about the move came when residents were made aware of the change. He said there were many miscommunications regarding leasing at first.  

“I’m not very happy with the way they’re doing it — the way I’ve had to for now renew my lease,” Pandal said. “I definitely wish I was able to do it sooner, but I was very panicked and very angry that we were just not warned beforehand that this was just such a sudden change, especially during winter break when I had to tell most of the people that I knew about the information because they were back home.”  

However, Mattera said while this may seem like a jarring shift, this move will only benefit the TXST housing shortage and the student population for years to come. 

“I will keep hoping that by telling the story, students will start to recognize that our goal is not to sort of exert this control that I think they feel,” Mattera said. “It’s really about we think this makes some really smart options for students in terms of affordability and access to housing moving forward.”