A sneak peek into Panther Village

Panther Village, an on-campus apartment complex for University of Northern Iowa juniors and seniors, will open in the fall of 2012. Larson Construction Co., Inc. is currently working on Phase I, which consists of 204 bedrooms in about 60 apartments. Phase II has recently begun construction and will be ready for students in the fall of 2013.

"This is all designed so that if there is a lot of demand for these apartments, we can build a Phase III, which will be another 200 and some bedrooms and a Phase IV can be on the west side," said Joe Tripp-Rieks, construction project manager for Panther Village. "If this is the type of housing that students want and the demand is there for it, it's set up so it's easily expanded."

Panther Village will include a fitness room, elevator, study areas, an atrium, laundry rooms on every floor, a computer lab and a meeting room. It also has a "green" rubber roof that is filled with layers of plants and landings to add an extra layer of insulation to prevent heat loss and to help with rainwater runoff. 

"We have this really great continuity of housing experiences now where students can start out in a double room in the dorm, make their way into a single, move up to ROTH and then move into a place like Panther Village," said Pat Beck, assistant director of residence. "So there are lots of different options for students to live right on campus and gets lots of different types of living experiences."

Unlike ROTH, Panther Village offers only private rooms with up to four people in each apartment. 

Each apartment has a floor-to-ceiling window that first catches the eye. In addition, the rooms have airconditioning, bedroom and living room furniture, two bathrooms and appliances, such as a dishwasher, microwave and refrigerator. 

Panther Village is right next to the Piazza dining center and includes services and utilities such as ResNet, WiFi and cable. 

It is still being decided whether the entryways will require a key or a card. The cost of living in Panther Village is also still under consideration. 

"Prices haven't been set yet, but they examine what everyone else is charging and what the value of this is," Beck said. "And it's right on campus, and the construction is going to provide the comfort and durability that is exceptional."

Prices will be announced in January. Students can begin contracting for Phase I of Panther Village at that time. 

The architecture of the building is brick and cast stone, which matches the rest of the campus buildings. A huge courtyard in the shape of a U will connect Phases I and II while also providing a landscape. 

"The difference between this and other apartments is that a lot of apartments around town are wood frames," Tripp-Rieks said. "This is all solid concrete planks and block walls, so it's built just like all other buildings on campus with a long duration of about 50 to 75 years."

Each resident should be able to have on-site parking right next to Panther Village. The parking pass type for the 550 new parking spots is yet to be determined.

The developers are using the green, certified building rating system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for the Panther Village. To make the apartment complex as energy-efficient as possible, features such as in-room recycling will be added. 

_{Slideshow by BRANDON BAKER/Northern Iowan}