Construction to begin on luxury student housing complex near TCU

The units will only be available to upperclassmen.

The first level of the complex will have spaces for shops and restaurants.

A 56 unit luxury apartment complex will overlook campus from the corner of University Drive and W. Devitt Street next school year.

Fountain Residential's vice president of development, Trevor Tollett, said his company closed on the land Friday morning for a project they hoped to break ground on this week.

Tollett said The Vue will offer luxury boutique-style housing and even allow dogs. The first floor will serve as a parking garage and business level for shops and restaurants. The roof will have a viewing deck that overlooks campus, and the pool will sit on the second floor above the parking garage.

Unlike the GrandMarc, a similar student housing complex on West Bowie Street, the Vue will not be in partnership with the university to count as on campus housing, so it will only be available to upperclassmen. The complex will also be much smaller than the GrandMarc with 118 bedrooms in mostly double and single room units.

The units will have granite countertops, faux wood floors, and stainless steel appliances.

"By the time you're a junior or a senior, you don't want five roommates," Tollett said. "You just got through living in the fraternity or sorority houses or living with three of your buddies, so we've designed this project to be more one room or two bedroom."

Tollett said the units will be fully furnished with queen size beds, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and faux wood floors.

"Since you're not on campus, you don't have the rules and regulations that you have at TCU," Tollett said.

Fountain Residential is based in Dallas and builds primarily student housing complexes. This is their first project in the area.

Tollett said Fountain Residential was in the process of leasing a space in Bluebonnet Circle to use a leasing office during the construction of the complex. He said leasing for The Vue would be by the bedroom, rather than the unit. Leasing would begin this summer and the first tenants would move in August 2012.