MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The University of Memphis will have a special Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday to discuss buying the Gather on Southern apartments and turning them into university-managed dormitories.
The 435-bed Gather apartments are targeted toward students only and are directly across Southern Avenue from the U of M main campus. In its proposal, the U of M said the acquiring the apartments would add to students’ options of on-campus housing and add a new building for dorms.
The Gather on Southern opened for residents in August 2014, and the university proposal said if they were added to campus, that would give them the option of tearing down older dorm buildings in the future.
Under the proposed plan, the university would just manage the apartments at first, and then after 30 years, the land on which the apartments sit would be bought by the university. The terms for the purchase are still under negotiation.
If added, the apartments would increase the on-campus housing for students by 17 percent. As it stands now, university housing can only hold 12 percent of total students.
The U of M would also not have to deal with a third-party owner competing with the school for residents in the future.
Though not cited by the university as a reason for acquiring the apartments, residents have voiced safety concerns. In five days in January, there were three reported gun crimes at the complex.
Property management at the Gather on Southern would not comment on the meeting. A spokesperson from the current management company, Cardinal Group Management, said they are not part of this discussion, nor were they aware the meeting is taking place.
“If there are discussions regarding the change in management, it is likely due to the synergies that exist due to Gather on Southern being immediately adjacent to the university rather than as a response to recent unrelated matters that occurred with guests of our residents,” the spokesperson said.
The Board of Trustees will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday on campus.