Proposed 11-story housing option is on the horizon for University of Tampa students

More student housing for UTampa on the way

Some relief is on the way for University of Tampa students in need of housing. FOX 13's Kylie Jones has the latest. 

TAMPA, Fla - The University of Tampa has received the next stamp of approval to help solve an on-campus student housing shortage.

On Thursday, Tampa City Council unanimously approved a rezoning proposal on its second reading.

The backstory:

The university has plans to build a residence hall on the property at 110 S. Blvd, at the corner of Cleveland Street. It would sit one block away from the campus.

University leaders shared renderings of the 11-story residence hall, which would include 833 beds for freshmen and sophomores.

The dorm would include suite-style units, study lounges, common rooms, dining facilities, surface parking and bike storage. 

The project also includes improvements to pedestrian and bike paths on South Boulevard, and upgrades to the HART bus shelter at Cleveland Street and Fielding Avenue.

What they're saying:

"As demand for a UTampa education continues to grow, expanding access to high-quality housing near campus is essential to student success," UTampa President Teresa Abi-Nader Dahlberg said. "This project allows us to expand access to the on-campus experience for more students while strengthening our campus community and supporting Tampa’s continued growth."

A lot of students are eager about plans for this proposed residence hall.

"I think that they definitely need it," freshman Nicholas Rotolo said. "They're letting in way too many kids and there's not enough housing, so I think it would definitely be necessary, and I think a lot of kids who are coming here would look forward to having that opportunity to live in a new dorm."

A lot of freshmen have had to fight for on-campus housing and weren't guaranteed a spot.

"We definitely got lucky," freshman Caden Falcon said. "I filled out the housing application super early in the summer, so we got absolutely lucky with the room and even getting on campus."

Other freshmen who haven't been as lucky to live on campus, have lived in the Barrymore Hotel nearby.

As some freshmen looked ahead to their sophomore year, they said the on-campus housing options were even more competitive.

"We also know kids who are going to be sophomores next year who are back in the freshmen dorms because they couldn't get any better housing," Falcon said. "So, there's even freshmen who are going to be displaced because sophomores can't get housing anywhere, like on campus."

By the numbers:

At the beginning of this school year, the university announced that it saw historic enrollment, with a record 11,500 undergraduates and graduates.

University leaders say they had an incoming class of 3,400 undergraduate students this year after receiving a record 43,000 undergraduate applications.

The university most recently opened the Grand Center residence hall in the fall of 2024, but demand for on-campus housing continues to grow.

What's next:

The university plans to work with the national student housing developer, RISE, to finance and build the new residence hall.

It's set to open in the fall of 2028.