Apartment Oversupply

According to this article from the Southern,  Carbondale is seeing roughly a 5% vacancy rate in apartments in town.  I am rather surprised it is not closer to 90%, given the amount of building that has taken place in town over the last few years and the continual slide in enrollment.

I would hazard a guess that the figures ignore the number of retail houses in the area north of West Main and around South Poplar. From what I have heard, students have chosen to abandon a lot of those older properties which landlords have only minimally maintained, preferring to move to brand new properties like the Reserve at Saluki Pointe and G & R Rentals.  In addition, there are the properties that were/are owned by Campus Habitat, which as far as I know are still closed by order of the city, taking a large number of rooms and apartments out of the rental pool.

Campus Habitat Going?

According to an email received from a blog reader, First Internet Bank out of Indianapolis has taken over ownership of Campus Habitat properties at 716 S. University and 700 West Freeman after Campus Habitat defaulted on the loans.  Councilwoman Jane Adams has more on the saga of Campus Habitat on her blog (scroll down to Sept 20th)

Building Board of Appeals

Turns out the Board of Appeals meeting was called on account of Campus Habitat appealing the city's notice of intent to close apartments the company owns at 600 and 820 West Freeman.  If Campus Habitat did not get the extension, several apartments in 600 West Freeman and the entirety of 820 West Freeman would close on August 23.  Campus Habitat has fist been notified verbal of problems with the buildings by the city last September and had received written notice in late July.  After a two and a half hour meeting, the Board decided to give Campus Habitat an extension until Sept. 5 to bring the doors in 600 West Freeman up to city specifications. 

The Board then required Campus Habitat to provide it with an action plan for replacing the doors at 820 West Freeman and otherwise bringing the building into compliance with fire and building codes by the time of the Board's next meeting, Sept. 12. Board chairman Campbell Smith said the Board also expected to see substantial compliance with the submitted action plan by the time of the meeting, otherwise the intent to vacate order would be reinstated.  Smith added that the reason for the lengthy extension granted for 820 West Freeman was evidence submitted by Campus Habitat that the 91 doors ordered for the refit were not expected to arrive until Sept 4.  Of course, also according to Campus Habitat, orders for replacement doors did not go to the supplier until August 15 (yes, that was yesterday).

Campus Habitat

Don't know if you've seen this letter in the DE yet but it paints a pretty negative picture about Campus Habitat, one of Carbondale's many absentee landlords.  Here are comments about the indivudual complexs on S. University, 820 West Freeman, and South Graham.