BENTONVILLE -- Northwest Arkansas Community College is taking another look at adding residential facilities to its main campus.
Dennis Rittle, college president, said the college is seeking an update of a study commissioned in 2019 to determine the feasibility of a dormitory.
Vogt Strategic Insights, a firm based in Columbus, Ohio, did the study and concluded enough students at the college need housing in the area to warrant building a dormitory for up to 120 students.
The firm suggested a building with 60, one-bedroom units, each of which could house two people and include a full bathroom and kitchen. The firm's recommended monthly per-person rent was $525, or $1,050 per unit. That price would include furnishings and utilities.
The study targeted a very specific question: Could the college support residential housing for students? The answer was yes, Rittle said.
"What wasn't asked was, how many and to what extent. And that wasn't explored," he said.
Vogt released its study results in May 2020. That was in the early days of the covid-19 pandemic, which put the housing issue on hold. During a Board of Trustees meeting in August, members listed housing as one of the top items they'd like to see explored in the next few years, Rittle said.
The college contacted Vogt, which agreed to "refresh" its 2020 study and include more information on what the college could do housing-wise, Rittle said. He said they expect to get results of the new study in December.
The initial study cost the college $10,300. The refreshed study will cost $6,500, according to Grant Hodges, a college spokesman.
The college is considering what it would take to provide housing not only for students, but for its employees, its recent graduates and possibly even employees of local school districts, Rittle said.
Both the college and local school districts face challenges attracting employees in part because of the lack of affordable and appropriate housing in Northwest Arkansas, he said.
"So if we can get them in temporary housing, now they can get their feet here, begin work and they can look for a house," Rittle said.
An "alumni village," he said, would allow students to stay in on-campus housing for some time while they're seeking employment. That would buy them time to find employment and other housing options in the community and would help retain talent in the region, Rittle said.
Ron Branscum, a college board member, said he's interested to see the results of the next study.
"I'm not leaning either way until we get more info," Branscum said.
A 2017 state law sponsored by state Sen. Jane English, R-North Little Rock, repealed the prohibition on community colleges constructing, maintaining or operating residence halls. Northwest Arkansas Community College officials have batted around the idea of a dormitory since. Some have visited community colleges in Missouri, Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma to better understand what's involved.
The college has land on which to build on its Bentonville campus.
"Land is becoming more and more scarce," Rittle said. "Especially the land that is in proximity to other community services, like mass transit, things like that."
Northwest Arkansas has seen housing prices skyrocket in recent years. Housing prices rose at a faster percentage rate in Northwest Arkansas than anywhere else in the United States during the second quarter of this year, according to the National Association of Realtors quarterly report.
The median price for single-family homes in Northwest Arkansas hit $350,000 from April through June, up 31.9% from where that price was at the end of the second quarter of 2021, the report said.
Duke McLarty is executive director of the workforce housing center of the Northwest Arkansas Council. The council is a nonprofit group of community and business leaders that focuses on regional issues.
McLarty said he applauds the college for being proactive and assessing the housing need through additional study.
"I think it's something that is really indicative of the place that we find ourselves in Northwest Arkansas, that large institutions are having to consider housing when they're making their future plans," McLarty said. "And I think it's something that, not just educational institutions, but our large employers are going to really have to start putting into their calculus as they plan for future growth in our region."
The college reported an enrollment of 7,839 students as of Sept. 7, an increase of 10.7% from the same point last fall semester. Fall 2019 enrollment, right before the pandemic hit, was 8,383.
Jeff Perry, superintendent of the Rogers School District, said the district recently lost out on hiring a couple of good teachers because of what they saw in the housing market.
"They just realized that this wasn't a viable option for them," he said.
The district, like the college, is taking a look at the feasibility of establishing some kind of housing facilities that would offer teachers a place to live at least temporarily, Perry said. He stressed such discussion is in the preliminary stage and has not been brought to the School Board.
The district is always open to partnerships, and a partnership with the college on the housing issue is certainly possible, he said.
"It could be a situation where if they had the land and the facilities, we could certainly partner with them. If we had the facilities and land, they could partner with us. We are open to either one of those scenarios," Perry said.
He said he thinks the housing market will adjust to some degree, but it won't be soon.
"And I think it's going to continue to be a struggle for virtually anybody to come in and be able to have some housing and still be able to enjoy that quality of life," Perry said.