UConn’s housing crisis has become the most widely discussed topic among students due to the lack of housing options across the university’s five campuses.
Following UConn’s record-breaking freshman class, more than 7,400 returning students have been asked to surrender their rooms to make more available for the Class of 2028. This has left students with a number of weeks to figure out new housing accommodations and attempt to find space available around the UConn campus’.
To combat the housing shortage, Connecticut Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff sent a letter on August 27 to UConn President Radenka Maric to follow up on a meeting they had together on March 12, 2024.
“In our meeting, it was stated that UConn could accommodate 40,000 students, while not diminishing the academic quality of the students or diminishing the distinction of the education,” the letter said.
Looney and Duff articulated their concern with the amount of applicants who turned away from the university because of their inability to attend the campus of their choice.
“Our state currently has almost 100,000 open jobs – a significant portion of which require higher levels of education,” the letter said. “Students that choose to go to another state for school because they did not get into UConn’s main campus have a high likelihood of not returning to our state. Many of these students are high academic performers and not only deserve to get into our flagship university’s main campus but are necessary for the success of our state’s future.”
They’ve asked for the university to formulate and execute a long-term housing expansion plan to grant more students the opportunity to live at the campus of their choice.
“UConn expects to have about 13,300 residents in student housing at Storrs [this academic year],” university spokesperson Stephanie Reitz said. “That’s about 13,150 students in the residence halls and 163 in apartments at The Oaks on the Square in Downtown Storrs, where UConn leased rooms to add capacity in response to the strong interest.”
All UConn students who applied for on-campus housing by the deadline were accommodated with room assignments prior to their arrival to campus. Students who submitted their applications past the deadline were added to a waitlist.
The newest residence hall, Connecticut Hall, and university-leased apartments at the Oaks have opened up more than 820 beds for the fall 2024 semester.
The Storrs campus housing capacity has grown to accommodate 13,317 students for the campus’ projected 19,800 fall 2024 student population, according to the Hartford Courant.
A new high-rise housing complex is scheduled to be built at the edge of the university’s Storrs campus on North Eagleville Road.
This will be UConn’s first privately owned, dorm-style housing complex that will open 1,261 new housing units, according to an article written by News 8 Connecticut.
“We are excited about abundant private student-oriented housing developments near the Storrs campus which will help address housing demands going forward,” Reitz said.
The complex will include two eight-story high rises that will have a total of 450 units available for students. This development has been approved since 2020 and the town may begin renting the space in fall 2026.
Similarly to the Storrs campus, UConn Stamford has had record breaking undergraduate first-year enrollment for the 2024-2025 academic year.
The regional campus originally expected 800 first-year students, however, roughly 1,000 first-year students have enrolled at UConn Stamford.
The campus has had an increase of 400 students in comparison to the previous academic year which has encouraged the university to expand its housing resources for students.
UConn’s three new Stamford housing locations, Harbor Point-NV, Harbor Point-Allure, and 1385 Washington Blvd. have introduced more than 170 new beds for the regional campus. There are now more than 650 beds available at the Stamford campus, according to the university’s official website.
The enrollment at the Hartford regional campus has grown 18 percent from its opening in 2017 and is expected to expand the campus by including housing accommodations for students.
With the growth of the campus, UConn conducted a survey with undergraduate students who attended the Hartford campus in 2023 to see if there was an interest in university provided housing. There was a 70% interest rate out of those who participated in the survey, but many students said that the rent would need to be affordable for it to be a feasible option.
According to an article by UConn Today, a plan was approved in May 2024 to lease space at 242 Trumbull St. that will house 50 four-person units for UConn Hartford students. The units will be available starting in August 2026 if the State Bond Commission approves the financial agreements with the building’s owner and the Capital Region Development Authority.
“We look forward to opening a new residence hall in downtown Hartford in the near future, in addition to expanding our student housing in Stamford,” Reitz said.
There are currently discussions to build student housing on the Avery Point campus that would accommodate 150 to 250 students, according to UConn Today. UConn has issued a “Request for Expression of Interest” (RFEI) to parties who will be considered to provide these arrangements.
“The University of Connecticut (“University”) is seeking innovative and cost-effective solutions to the provision of student housing at UConn Avery Point, its historic waterfront campus on Long Island Sound in Groton CT, to be occupied on August 1, 2025, August 1, 2026 or August 1, 2027,” according to UConn’s RFEI document.
The inclusion of student housing at the Avery Point campus is one of many possibilities for the regional campus. The university is also considering the possibility of adding more majors that can be fully completed on site without the need to transfer to the flagship campus.
Students can begin more than 110 majors at the Avery Point campus, however, they require transferring to another UConn campus to be completed. Avery Point students can only complete degrees in english, general studies, marine sciences, and maritime studies on site.
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