About 143 new apartments are under construction at the former Patterson-Kennedy school site on Wyoming Street, less than a block from Brown street, adjacent to UD’s campus.
The “Flight” apartment complex will have fully furnished units with 385 beds and amenities that are expected to appeal primarily to UD upperclassmen, graduate students and postgraduate candidates.
Work on the Flight apartments originally was supposed to begin in spring of 2020, but the project did not break ground until late November 2021.
The coronavirus was entirely to blame for the delay, said Robert Fiorita, developer and managing member of New Village Communities, which is behind the project.
The pandemic threw student housing projects into turmoil because students were not on campus and were taking classes remotely, and investors were spooked by potential long-term changes to student learning and living arrangements, he said.
Many members of the student housing industry feared that a large number of students would opt for virtual learning over the traditional on-campus experience, Fiorita said.
But if anything, Fiorita said, the last couple of years have demonstrated the value of in-person learning and the on-campus environment.
Some groups and researchers say in-person learning leads to better academic outcomes, attendance and student engagement and satisfaction for most students.
The Flight apartments will provide high-quality housing that is less dense than dorms and other on-campus housing options, Fiorita said.
The Flight’s new units will give students separate bedrooms and their own bathrooms, he said, and other amenities will include a clubhouse, fitness center, wifi café, recreation room and study rooms. Units will have patios or balconies.
“There is nothing like it in this part of Dayton,” he said. “It’s a major investment in the community and the core area of downtown.”
The five-story building will take about 18 to 20 months to complete, with units expected to open in spring 2023.
The developer plans a future phase to add more housing units and a parking garage.
A few hundred yards north of the Flight site is a new three-story apartment building at 723 Nathan Street. The building, along Warren Street, has 51 new apartments, 44,515 square feet of space and is the second phase of the Flats at South Park project.
The first phase consisted of a four-story building one block north that opened in 2018, offering 43 rental units, which essentially have remained fully occupied.
The new building is about 60% leased, and the first tenant moved in last fall, said Rusty Lykes, vice president of property management with Oberer Companies.
“We’re averaging about four to five rentals per week,” he said, noting that Oberer Management Services manages the Flats apartments.
Years ago, the developer originally proposed to build condos on the site, but later revised its plans in favor of apartments, citing market demand.
The Flats’ apartments are in high demand because they are A-class, luxury units, Lykes said, and their location also offers easy access to U.S. 35, I-75 and Main Street.
“It’s easy to get to a lot of major employment areas,” he said.
Walkability is a big draw, he said, because it’s a short trip to the Oregon District or the businesses on Brown Street, and the apartments are along the bus route of the Flyer, which is the free shuttle that travels between downtown and the UD campus area.
Developer and general contractor Greater Dayton Construction Group wants to build new housing on a large section of vacant land just east of the new apartments, which once was home to the Cliburn Manor housing project.
About the Author
