As a part of Longwood's campus master plan, new apartment buildings are being constructed at Lancer Park and will feature two four-and-a-half story apartment buildings, along with a common area between the two structures. The new apartments, called "North Campus Commons," are expected to be ready for move-in for the fall 2013 semester. As of this moment, the construction of the buildings for the North Campus Commons has not yet begun; however, a very large area of land has been cleared off. Executive Director of the Longwood University Real Estate Foundation Ken Copeland said, "We hope to see the buildings kind of start coming out of the ground around spring break time."
The North Campus Commons will look very similar in nature to the Longwood Landings, with the addition of the commons area, where residents can have the same access to food and other items; this is similar to how residents in the Landings have the convenience of Moe's Southwest Grill and Chick-fil-A. Apartment Manager for Residential and Commuter Life (RCL) Jennifer Huddleston said, "We really want our residents at Lancer Park to have some kind of food services accessible for them." In addition, RCL Area Coordinator for Off-Campus Living Jennifer Cox said Lancer Park residents will have a designated front desk area. The front desk area will serve as a central service location for all residents in the new apartments, as well as the current Lancer Park apartments.
In order to get ideas about what should be in the commons area, Copeland took a trip to Old Dominion University (ODU), which is an ARAMARK campus like Longwood. Copeland said, "There's a pretty cool twist on food service at ODU that we may try to replicate in the commons … it's kind of a hybrid similar to the café in student union, but a little more upscale."
Like the Landings, North Campus Commons will be fully furnished with a wide variety of different living spaces. Huddleston said the future apartments include six studio, 24 two-bedroom and 100 four-bedroom apartments. Huddleston also explained how studio apartments are popular in the Landings, leading to the decision to build more one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments in the new apartments.
In September 2012, students will be able to vote on what kind of furniture would be best for the new apartments. Huddleston said, "Students can just stop by on their way to lunch or to class and vote … we really want to put in what you guys want."
The North Campus Commons apartments will also display a similar price point for students to the Landings. While keeping the budgets of students in mind, Copeland said, "We are targeting the price point to be in keeping with the Landings, with the new [North Campus Commons] apartments being a little more expensive."
The North Campus Commons will remind students of existing on-campus architecture in order to keep the cohesive look of Longwood. Huddleston said, "We wanted to incorporate a lot of what's already on campus into these new buildings … the architecture is going to really tie back to what you see on the main campus."
In the campus master plan, replacing the Cunninghams is a high priority. Huddleston said, "In the grand master plan, the Cunninghams will be taken down and become the new student union; so these [new apartments] are essentially the replacement beds for the Cunninghams." Copeland said, "The Cunninghams will come down once these [new apartments] are finished."The Lancer Park athletic fields will not be affected by the construction of the new apartments. The apartments will be placed behind the fields.
In addition to the apartments, there will also be a parking lot built with 360 spots. There will be new basketball and volleyball courts put in place as well. Cox said, "One of the reasons Lancer Park is appealing to many students is because of our outdoor space, and I know a lot of our
