The University of Iowa is selling its Mayflower residence hall as part of a five-year plan to upgrade its housing system, a project influenced by research and feedback from students, with a price tag of $45 million. An official assessment will be done in March, but the estimated cost approach assessment is currently $30,699,780, while […]
The University of Iowa is selling its Mayflower residence hall as part of a five-year plan to upgrade its housing system, a project influenced by research and feedback from students, with a price tag of $45 million.An official assessment will be done in March, but the estimated cost approach assessment is currently $30,699,780, while the estimated income approach is $32,119,090, far below the asking price.“We are always looking at our housing inventory and have a campus master plan regarding facilities. Mayflower is the most distant residence hall from campus, and often less preferred by first-year students, who we want nearer other campus residence halls, food service, and classes,” said Sarah Hansen, vice president of division of student life, in an email to the CBJ. “As we plan for the future, we asked Board of Regents’ approval to study potential sale of Mayflower and construction of a smaller residence hall for returning students.”
Living close to campus important
According to the University of Iowa, recent data shows first-year students who live in Mayflower are retained at lower rates than any other residence hall and have lower grade point averages.“We know that living on campus provides students with the educational, social, and cultural experiences that support their success,” said Ms. Hansen in a statement on UI's website. “At Iowa, 89% of first-year students who live in the residence halls continue to their second year compared to 82% of students who live off campus. This five-year plan represents an efficient and effective use of our resources while improving outcomes for students.”UI has 11 residence halls, nine of which are more than 50 years old. The oldest is Currier, which was built in 1914, and the newest is Catlett, which opened in 2017. In total, the residence hall system has about 6,500 beds. Other primary projects include the remodeling and modernization of Hillcrest and Burge residence halls, and building a new residence hall on the east side of campus primarily for second, third, and fourth-year students.The Mayflower is listed on Zillow as $45 million and was built in 1968 as a private facility before being purchased by UI. It has 326,000 square feet of interior space with 523 rooms and 1,015 beds, with one-to-four residents per unit. As of Aug. 30, it has been on the market for 70 days with 89 saves and 3,677 views. Jeff Edberg, the realtor representing the Mayflower, said there has been widespread interest in the building, both inside and outside the state.
Student feedback
Student reviews for the Mayflower on Google are mixed, most complaining about the distance from the university and age-related issues.“The worst dorm on campus. The rooms are big and have private bathrooms but that's all this building has going for it. It's far from campus, the rooms are outdated, there's bugs, the elevators are slow... I could go on for a long time,” said one review.“The bus doesn't run when there are games, so then you're basically stranded,” said another.The Mayflower is scheduled to close in the spring of 2024, once the remodeling is finished on Hillcrest.
