Discovery House, a new 465-unit apartment building for University of Maryland (UMD) graduate students, is accepting leases from tenants who will occupy the complex starting Aug. 12.
Jeremy Steed, vice president of facilities for Capstone On-Campus Management, which will manage Discovery House, said approximately 200 prospective tenants had already booked their apartments by the time of a soft opening on May 13. The building can accommodate 741 students.
“Working with the university, we surveyed the community [and] found that there was a real demand for graduate housing,” Greg Reaves, CEO of Mosaic Development Partners, the building’s developer, said. “The existing housing was also an issue that was brought to our attention in terms of bringing in new products, something that was a bit more upgraded.”
Reaves added: “We thought that what was really important to graduate students, and really all students today, is privacy. And so this project really does focus on both intimacy and privacy of … graduate students.”
Apartment sizes range from studios renting for $1,790 per month to five-bedroom, three-bathroom units for $995 per tenant each month. One-, two-, three- and four-bedroom units with separate bathrooms for each tenant are also available.
But some graduate students have complained that the price points at Discovery House, located at 4646 Graduate Way near the College Park/University of Maryland Metro station, are too high.
Reaves said rents at Discovery House are below market price.
“What we were charged with is making sure that this building was built at a cost where they can price it where it’s below the market … in the College Park community,” Reaves said. “And we do know that the offering here is below market.”
Reaves noted that Discovery House tenants will not have to pay for Wi-Fi or utilities, which are included in the rent.
“It’s an all-in-one price. You know what you’re paying,” he said. “It’s the same price every month, whether the water goes up, the electric goes up, the Wi-Fi changes. You pay the single price. And so that was the goal of this project.”
Christopher Mason, UMD’s director of affiliated housing, explained that the building’s amenities make it worth its price. He named fully furnished apartments, in-unit washers and dryers, indoor bike storage, outdoor courtyards and dedicated study lounges among the features. In addition, he said, tenants of Discovery House do not pay security deposits and can walk to the Metro.
“I know a constant debate within the university, as well as the City of College Park itself, in regards to students, is affordability,” Reaves added.
According to The Diamondback, UMD’s student newspaper, this complex will double the amount of dedicated graduate housing.
Kelly Jordan, who attended the soft opening, said she is excited about Discovery House.
“It’s going to be a really nice place to really focus and work together collaboratively with other students,” Jordan said.