UNLV, developer discuss dorm deal

UNLV officials are in talks with a private real estate developer to take over the day-to-day management of its on-campus dormitories.

The university has about 1,500 beds in its on-campus dorms.

The developer, AVS Group, would not take ownership of the dorms. Rather, the group would take care of the marketing, maintenance and operations of the units.

“The dorms remain our asset,” said David Frommer, UNLV’s executive director of planning and construction.

AVS Group is a coalition that includes local developers The Vista Group and American Nevada Company.

The coalition is behind the Midtown UNLV concept, with Chicago-based The Scion Group, which operates campus housing units across the country.

Nationally, outsourcing the operation of or outright selling dormitories has become a popular option for cash-strapped colleges and universities.

Earlier this year, the University of Kentucky made a deal with a private developer to take over all of its existing dorms and replace them with new ones.

Frommer said UNLV’s arrangement, which is still not official, will be less encompassing.

Frommer said he expects the agreement to be in place by the start of the spring 2013 semester.

He said that it would be similar to how the food service works in the campus diner. There, a private company operates the university-owned facility.

With the dorms, the university will retain control of student activities. University employees will still be in charge of the dorms, too, he said.

David Saltman, a principal with AVS Group, said the company has plans to develop more student housing, either on university property or nearby.

“We want to try to make the housing all work together,” he said.

He said they have plans to convert a nearby apartment community into campus housing.

Frommer said the university, traditionally a commuter campus, could sustain several thousand more campus housing units.

How many more is uncertain.

Much will depend on what happens with the UNLV Now project, the combination stadium and university village concept promoted by local developers Majestic Realty.

That project would build a football stadium, several thousand housing units and a large retail shopping center on the campus.

While it has received enthusiastic support from the university, it is unclear yet whether financing will come through.

Saltman said that though AVS Group and Majestic are not related, they do plan on working together if the project gets off the ground.

“Our efforts are to make sure that whatever new construction is built on campus, that it makes sense together,” he said.

The agreement between UNLV and AVS Group came about after the university a consultant to help analyze its dormitories.

After the collapse of the local housing market in 2008, the dorms became less popular as off-campus housing prices fell, Frommer said.

He said the university already has made some changes to the dorms based on AVS’ work, including adding kitchens to some of them.

Contact reporter Richard Lake at rlake@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0307.