Space Constraints Despite the large amount of land the real estate foundation acquired for the site, Ambling still found itself limited for space. “The site for 1,000 beds was pretty small, and we needed an added parking ratio,” says Greg Blais, a senior vice president from Ambling. “Ideally we would have liked to have had more acreage, but with the boundaries of the campus it just wasn’t feasible.”
Eventually Ambling chose a hotel corridor design to solve the space issues. “It’s very similar to a hotel style,” Blais says. “On each corridor the units open up. It allows for a greater density.”
The student housing follows the opening of the Ted Constant Convocation Center in 2002, which also faced land acquisition challenges, according to Larkin. Next on ODU’s plate: The development of a hotel, a parking garage, and a grocery store-anchored retail center.
While there’s still more work to do, Old Dominion now has 10 buildings with 960 beds of student housing and retail space that draws town residents and gives students a place to shop, eat, and, in some cases, work. “All of the employees at the retail establishments are ODU students,” Adie says. “Many of them live above the retail shops.”
