CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON STUDENT HOUSING AT UW FOX VALLEY

 2nd Update:
Monday night the common council approved the special use permit for the Fox Lodge project (as reported in the Post Crescent and Buisness Journal)with provisions for a Payment in Lieu of Taxes should the facility become tax exempt.  The project will positively impact both UW Fox Valley and the City of Menasha strengthening educational opportunities here in our community.   We look forward to working cooperatively with the UW system to continuing to make UW Fox Valley one of the best values in education in the state.

Update:
Monday night the common council placed the project on hold (see Post Crescent article) citing concerns with too much parking, why parking was not placed underground, access to the site via Midway Road not being adequate, and the potential for the project to become non-profit.   I fully support this $2 million privately owned project to be built without city subsidy.  Hopefully the developers will be able to satisfy their concerns and move this project forward.  This project will add immensely to the quality education available to students at UW Fox Valley making Menasha an even stronger choice for students in NE Wisconsin to start their education.  Future plans for expansion will offer additional ammenities for students living in the units with a total value of the finished project estimated at $8 million.

University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley will see its first (nearly) onsite student housing for the 2012-13 academic year.    Construction is slated to begin soon on a $2 million, 17-unit private student housing project near the intersection of Midway Road & University Drive.

UW-Fox Valley, a two-year campus at 1478 Midway Road, has no on-campus housing.

Plans eventually call for a 56-unit complex built in four phases with a total value of $8 million.   The current phase would offer housing for up to 60 students, with up to 250 students as additional phases are constructed.  The units are designed to resemble four bedroom apartments to provide a more residential environment than a traditional dorm, and provide opportunites for students to get together as a community.  Plans call for a full-time resident director to live on site and promote a variety of student activities.   

UW Fox Valley, my alma mater, is known to provide private university attention at the reasonable cost of attending a public university.  Menasha is proud to be able to offer this opportunity for students of the Fox Valley and beyond.  UW Fox-Valley is also home to the Aylward Gallery, Perry Theatre, Barlow Planetarium, and Weis Earth Science Museum all offering an enriching environment filled with facinating programs for students and the community.