by Carolyn Dunne
28. June 2011 11:10
RIT Housing: The Province
The
newest venture to enter RIT’s student housing market is The Province. A
company with five other housing complexes in Florida, Kentucky, North
Carolina and Ohio, Province brings a mix of general knowledge and local
naïveté to their newest development here in Rochester. From delays in its initial construction to continuing problems with trash removal, the growing pains of Province are tempered by their staff and communal amenities.
Hosting
events quite regularly in their clubhouse, Province seeks to provide
students with a quality and social experience. From Free Food Fridays to
casino nights, the marketing staff effectively raises awareness of
their event schedule through Facebook and e-mail. With a pool,
volleyball court, fitness center, theater, and several other features in
their clubhouse, their attention to community building is definitely
present.
RocRooms
recently began to develop its own resident events. Beginning in the
summer of 2011, we are offering more opportunities for residents to come
together and hang out at private and Rochester events that are low or
no cost to them. Our residents help guide us toward the types of events
they would like to go to, reflecting our core value of flexible,
friendly and prompt service.
Province
and RocRooms both feature individual leases, to ensure that you are not
responsible for the rent of your roommate if they leave for any reason.
Both have individual fully furnished bedrooms for each student. Each
apartment comes equipped with an oven, refrigerator, microwave, on site
laundry, wireless Internet, cable and all-inclusive utilities.
In
addition, RocRooms properties have private yards that are maintained
with complementary snow removal and lawn maintenance. RocRooms also
includes a monthly cleaning service that tidies up your common areas.
Most of our properties feature easy and free parking, and when
available, the option of garage parking at $20 per month. Our properties
even come equipped with basic kitchen utensils and cookware for your
convenience. We also feature an annual summer housing scholarship, which is unique to our student housing company.
Rent
is an ever-present aspect of student housing that RocRooms takes
seriously. Having competitive pricing for the value of staying with us
is a major consideration for RocRooms. We know how expensive housing can
be on a college student budget, so we always look to save you money. We
also streamline your bills into one simple monthly online payment,
another commonality with Province.
The
average cost for a RocRoom will be $550 per month this year, and the
amount of total housing space in each unit ranges from 1,200 sq ft to
2,200 sq ft. During this academic year RocRooms will have some
all-inclusive options for as low as $450 a month. In contrast, Province
rent range starts at $700 - $850
per month for each individual and can go even higher from there. The
rent each individual pays seems to be based upon the number of residents
in the unit. Their selection in the type of housing you live in also
makes it unique from RocRooms’ housing options, which is largely limited
to four or five person living situations. Province’s Quartet and Trio
options are the closest in comparison to RocRooms properties, and are
1,200 to 1,500 sq ft with rent starting at $700 per month.
“Though
it is a little expensive, if a resident makes full use of the property
then it's worth the money,” said a rising fourth year Hospitality
student currently living in Province. When asked for the top dollar
amount he would pay, he replied that $900 was the maximum he would pay
for his larger studio apartment, which will cost $835 per month this
year, up from last year’s $785 per month. “The main reason I stay is
because it's close to campus... But for the rent to go up so much
because of ‘property value’ when the service and quality doesn't change
is somewhat ridiculous.”
With
pricing being, on average, fairly similar in a four roommate situation,
you need to look at what appeals to you. RocRooms has committed to
building a quiet, respectful and studious environment for our residents
to thrive academically. We ask our residents to limit their guests to 4
people per resident to help achieve this, and also select quieter
neighborhoods to develop our properties for this reason. Province is
much closer to RIT, and is on an RIT-sponsored bus line that easily
brings you to campus. However, the issue of others’ living spaces being
so close to your own may lead to distractions.
As
our source mentioned, living at Province is “like any apartment, it's
what you make of it. Though I've had some problems, I don't regret
living [there].”
OUR PROPERTIES
