University Club to get repairs, upgrades

By JALEN WADE

The 60-year-old University Club at College Park on Berwyn House Road will undergo a major renovation starting this summer.

Matt Hurson of Cape Advisers, which bought the building in November for $10.5 million, said the leases of the 135-unit student housing complex’s tenants will expire in July, so the building will be empty.

Those who return likely will face higher rents once the building has upgraded water and electrical systems, higher-end furnishings and outdoor amenities like a fire pit and patio, Hurson said.

“This property was of interest to us because of its distress pricing, but the fact that it is a property that needs a lot of work,” Hurson said. “So it’s something where our skill set can add value, because we manage architects and engineers and contractors.”

Some residents agreed the building needs work.

“I would say sometimes the lighting goes out,” tenant Michael Harris, a sophomore business finance major at the University of Maryland (UMD) said. “Sometimes the air conditioning doesn’t work that much. So sometimes, like when it’s cold [indoors or] like when it’s hot, I will have to open the windows. And I would say, like, the water is the worst part. It cuts off here and there, like, almost every three, four weeks.”

Also called the Yugo apartments, the complex was built in 1965 and has never undergone a major renovation, Huron said. Rents range from $609 to $1,218 a month. 

City Councilmember Susan Whitney (District 2) said the potential rent increase concerns her.

“There is a problem with a lack of affordable housing in general in the city, but also specifically for students,” Whitney said. “And this is one of the more affordable … buildings in the city. And my concern is that, you know, adding amenities to the apartments, updating them … my assumption is they’re doing that so they can raise rents and command more money for the apartments.”

Still, she said she appreciates that the buyer saw value in fixing the building rather than tearing it down.

Hurson said the repairs will be extensive.

For example, adding laundry machines inside the units will require an upgrade to the electrical system. In addition, the renovation will include upgrades to the building’s plumbing system and the addition of outdoor recreational spaces.

“That is better done with vacant units, so that you can turn the power off for an extended period of time while you replace all the wire and all the electrical panels,” Hurson said, explaining the need for the building to be empty before work begins.