Chapman University announced the $160 million acquisition of a new apartment building yesterday to address the lack of housing for upperclassmen students.

The Anavia Apartments, which will be known as Chapman Court, is located in Anaheim, two blocks away from the Chapman Grand Apartments at 2045 S. State College Boulevard. 

The new residence hall will be able to house approximately 800 students. It’s not yet known when students will be able to move into the building, but the university will begin renovations in the coming months. 

The purchase was meant to address the lack of university-owned housing options for continuing students, who currently are only able to live in either Chapman Grand, Panther Village or The K.

“This new student housing building is a win-win both for our students and community alike. Our neighbors asked us to house more students in Chapman-owned residential facilities and we listened,” Harold Hewitt, the university’s executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in an email statement sent yesterday. “With hundreds of millions invested in student housing over the past several years, the university’s commitment to house 50 percent of our undergraduate students on campus remains strong.”

In 2016, the Orange City Council approved the sale of a property near Panther Village to Chapman for $6.5 million in order to build more student housing. This expansion was originally slated to occur within two to three years after the purchase, but the project was halted when Chapman purchased the Chapman Grand Apartments in 2017 for $150 million.

At this time, it is unclear exactly how the acquisition will affect residents currently living in the Anavia building.

“It will take us a bit of time to formulate and roll out a plan regarding Anavia’s future use,” Hewitt told The Panther. “For now, we have retained the existing property management company to maintain daily operations. I expect we will be in a position to provide more details at the first of the year.”

Chapman has seen a need for new housing in the past few years, with the goal of housing 50% of all undergraduates, including all freshman and sophomore students.

The number of freshmen reached an all-time high this year, causing housing shortages for first-year students. This year, Residence Life and First Year Experience placed approximately 200 freshmen at Panther Village, a hall typically reserved for sophomores and above. 

At the same time, the university has also seen an increase in continuing students seeking campus housing options. The number of upperclassmen seeking Chapman housing jumped 175% between 2017 and 2019, according to a Nov. 16 press release from the university.

University officials said the acquisition will bring housing capacity to almost 55% of the total undergraduate population.  

Creating new housing has been a request from the surrounding community for years. Groups such as the Old Towne Orange Preservation Association have been asking the university to create more housing options to lower the number of students living in single-family homes across the City of Orange.

“I am extremely excited to be adding an additional residence hall of the caliber of Chapman Grand to our student housing options,” Chapman University President Daniele Struppa said in the press release. “We have seen remarkable success with the Grand, and I look forward to creating a similar experience with the new Chapman Court.” 

The individual unit amenities in Chapman Court will include washers and dryers in every apartment, a full kitchen and an on-site fitness center. 

This is a developing story. Follow The Panther on social media and at thepanthernewspaper.org for updates.