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The Rice Thresher
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by Elizabeth Jardina Thresher editorial staff
The complex, Twenty-One Eleven Holly Hall, is located near the Astrodome. "We got their proposal last week and they've agreed to provide 57 student beds," Food and Housing Director Mark Ditman said. "I couldn't get them to commit to more beds because it's a pretty significant commitment on their part." Martelians, who cannot move into the Martel building until it is finished in January, can choose to live in one of 19 three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartments from mid-August to the end of December. Martel Housing Representative Mindy Tyson, a Brown College junior, said that three-bedroom apartments are good because students will be able to keep the same roommates in the spring. Many of the rooms in the Martel building will be organized in six-person suites. Tyson said the Martel Founding Committee thought of getting an agreement with Holly Hall because three of the committee members, including herself, already lived at the complex. "We were familiar with its benefits and had already been through the ordeal of finding an apartment," she said. Students from Martel will pay either $425 or $350 for their room, depending on its size, in addition to a half-refundable $150 deposit and a $35 application fee. Contracts will be made individually, so no student will be responsible for her roommates' rent. Martel students who are unsure about who they will live with next year can fill out a roommate questionnaire linked from the Martel Web page (http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~martelcg) to help match them with a suitable roommate. Ditman and Tyson helped create the housing arrangement, which will not be administrated through Rice - students will send their checks directly to apartment management. If some students decide to stay at Holly Hall after Martel opens, Rice has agreed to pay a penalty to the complex because Holly Hall will not be able to rent the apartment to someone else. Ditman said Rice is concerned about the safety of the area. "We're also doing a security audit over there," he said. "We're trying to be duly diligent that it's an appropriate property." Tyson said many students' decisions about whether to live at Martel were based on whether transportation would be available for the semester they have to live off campus. Ditman said there are currently no plans for Rice shuttles to go to and from the complex, although they are talking to Metro about a reduced rate for bus passes. Metro Route No. 13, the Plaza del Oro route, runs from the intersection at Fannin and University to Holly Hall. "That discussion is not complete, but we'll give it a shot," Ditman said. Tyson said she wasn't sure how many Martel students would live at Holly Hall, but she said interest is growing. "As we have more Martel events, I think there will be more interest in living here and living as a community." Ditman praised the Martel students' work on the project, saying that the idea of getting apartments for the students came from them. "Really, we thought that the solution was going to be something like the extended stay at a hotel, or the Residence Inn or getting a block in the Warwick, so we're glad the students turned this suggestion up," Ditman said. Tyson also said that most of the complex's residents are students, which made it more attractive. Rice will distribute promotional materials for the complex describing special benefits for Rice community members at Holly Hall. Benefits will include a reduced application fee, priority apartment selection and $10 off each month's rent. "Essentially, what it does is create a special rate to the Rice community - not just limited to undergrads, but anyone with a Rice ID," Ditman said. "Primarily it would serve Rice undergrads and grad students."
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