Student housing balloons to 5,000 beds in downtown Lincoln

(AP) — By the middle of this month, two more towering student apartment complexes will open their doors, adding more than 1,200 beds in downtown Lincoln.

Since 2002, student housing developments built by both the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a slew of private companies have added 5,000 beds to the areas surrounding campus, changing the face of downtown Lincoln in the process.

In the South Haymarket, the 8N Lofts will open on the site of the former Baker Hardware at Eighth and N streets on Aug. 16, said Alie Hrabe, vice president of marketing and leasing for Trinitas, the Indiana-based student housing developer.

On the eastern edge of downtown, straddling P Street near Antelope Valley, Aspen Lincoln is also wrapping up construction on three new buildings ahead of move-in scheduled this week.

The city will monitor occupancy levels of student housing complexes later this year and see what demand looks like, said city planner Brandon Garrett.

Shoecraft said while he believes UNL's enrollment will eventually reach former Chancellor Harvey Perlman's goal of 30,000 students, it won't happen quickly enough to fill each of the student housing options for the next few years.