Running out of living space for residential students was a problem Sweet Briar College was glad to have entering the 2008-2009 academic year. Nonetheless, it will be a relief to College officials — who scrambled to create enough housing to keep pace with increased enrollment — when the first phase of a planned development called the Green Village is complete.

That is expected to happen in the fall of 2009, with construction beginning next month on the project to make room for 60 additional students. The approximately $3.3 million complex is the first new construction for student housing at Sweet Briar in the past half-century.

Plans for the initial phase call for five three-unit buildings consisting of an apartment on the ground level and two adjacent townhouse-style apartments occupying the top two floors. The second floor is used for the townhouses’ living space, with single bedrooms located on the third floor.

Each unit will accommodate four students and include a living room, full kitchen and dining area, two full baths and a shared laundry area. Outdoor seating will be provided on the ground level and a deck is planned for the second floor of the townhouses. Two apartment units will be designated for handicapped residents.

Some of the “green” features — which give the Village its name — include a geothermal heat pump, Energy Star appliances, low-flow showers and toilets, maximum insulation and high R-value windows. The metal Energy Star-rated roofs also will be able to accommodate photovoltaic solar electric panels.

The extra space will ease the tight squeeze in residence halls elsewhere on campus but that’s not all the Village will do for the College. “This has many advantages,” said Cheryl Steele, dean of co-curricular life. “It gives us more independent living options.”

Currently about 25 of the 610 students who live on campus enjoy apartment-style living. Steele noted that the experience is a little closer to life beyond college, making the transition after graduation that much easier.

She also said that the complex makes the College more attractive to prospective students, much like the new Fitness and Athletics Center slated to open in the fall of 2009. Steele said mostly seniors and “maybe some juniors if they’re lucky,” will live in the Green Village. Students make room selections by drawing numbers to determine order, with seniors picking first, then juniors and sophomores.

According to vice president for finance and administration Paul Davies, Sweet Briar also plans to use the residences during the summer to provide additional lodging for conference attendees at the Elston Inn & Conference Center. The fully furnished apartments will supplement the inn’s 38 rooms, allowing it to bring in larger groups and generating more revenue for the College.

– By Jennifer McManamay, SBC staff writer