With such a large number of freshmen moving in, more housing units were needed to accommodate all on-campus students. The solution: Station Square apartments.

Originally, only four of the buildings’ 24 apartments were going to be used, but as housing problems arose and current residents moved out, more became available.

Simpson students and staff currently live in 18 apartments.

“We were able to take some of the upperclassmen out of [the dorms] to make room for all the incoming freshmen,” said Nicole Faust, area coordinator at Station Square. “Also, a lot of residents moved out and opened up more space.”

“[When I found out] I freaked out, literally,” said sophomore Amber Williams. “I called [my roommate] to find out if it was true and that we were really supposed to move into them.”

Getting more rooms ready for students than originally planned was not a problem for the staff at the Physical Plant. The biggest tasks included making sure all of the appliances were in good working condition and turning small laundry facilities in each apartment into extra closet space.

“We had to replace a few dishwashers, microwaves and one or two air conditioning units,” said Gary Dooley, maintenance manager.

For the building itself, a few changes had to be made and more are in the planning and waiting stages.

“We did a few things [to the building],”said Bart Lane, campus services director. “We installed fire doors at the elevators, put crash bars on the exits and combo locks on the apartment doors, painted, put on new window coverings, and installed card access entry.”

Information services installed cable hook-ups and internet access systems.

Other needed improvements include a fire sprinkler system to be installed sometime next summer and cement bike racks that should be in soon.

According to Dooley the bike racks are low profile and should blend in with the architecture of the building.

Although the apartments have a lot in common with the other campus apartments, there are some significant differences.

All of the Station Square apartments have dishwashers and balconies and every apartment has two bathrooms, one of which has a bathtub.

“The best part is not having a community bathroom,” said Williams. “and I’m lucky because mine has a bathtub.”

All of the Station Square apartments are similar in design. Each is equipped with a small kitchen, dining room, living room, and two bedrooms.

“When I first saw the closet space I was floored,” said Williams. “We have, easily, ten times the closest space as last year. Our living space is about five times more space than before. We all have our own space, which is really nice.”

Station Square is under 24 hour quiet hours, due to the fact that there are still six apartments that house non-student tenants.

“I see [non-student tenants] outside sitting on their porches and we say hi,” said Jenna Sandersfeld, a sophomore. “The guy in the laundry room was helpful. They all seem very nice.”