The Arlington City Council approved the first reading for the second largest student apartment complex in the city. The Arlington Lofts will be built on West Abram Street where the Catalina Apartments currently stand. The Catalinas are a 45-year-old complex with 120 units.
The council voted six to three to approve the first reading for Greystar Student Living's latest proposal to build a new apartment complex near downtown Arlington. The Arlington Lofts will feature 549 bedrooms in 169 units with one to four bedroom floor plans.
With more than 34,000 students, the University of Texas at Arlington is the sixth largest university in the state and the demand for housing is great. The waitlist begins in the spring and runs into the summer. "From our standpoint, demand for on-campus housing has increased significantly in recent years," said Kristin Sullivan, UT Arlington's Vice President of Media Relations. "Right now we have about 5,000 students living in residence halls, university apartments and other properties."
Last August, the council rebuffed Greystar's first proposal to build a 231 unit complex with a seven-level parking garage. That proposal more than doubled the amount of units per acre the property is zoned for. The council gave the developers an opportunity to downsize the project and resubmit.
The council approved the first reading after Greystar reduced the size of the complex by 25 percent and cut the height of the parking garage from seven levels to three levels.
Construction will begin in August and is expected to finish by August 2016. Greystar Student Living has six Texas locations, with four in Austin and one in Denton.
City leaders also are excited about the new Sapphire Inspired Living development on South Center Street, which will be the largest apartment complex in the city.
"Residential is going to drive most of the development that will take place," said Tony Rutigliano, President and CEO of Downtown Arlington. "So the more people we bring to downtown, and they live here, the more opportunities we'll have to attract the theatres, the grocery stores, convenience stores and other nightlife opportunities."
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