EMU’s Welcome Home 2025 Plan is an equity initiative that will transform on-campus student housing to ensure that EMU students have access to quality and affordable housing with modern technology that meets the demands of the 21st Century.
EMU, like many regional public universities, is a resource-constrained institution following decades of cuts to higher education funding from the State of Michigan. EMU today receives $42.7 million less in funding per year from the State (after adjusting for inflation) than it did in 2003, and the State has scaled back funding for capital outlay projects. EMU has therefore been forced to invest its limited capital spending in upgrades to academic facilities (e.g., Sill Hall and the Science Complex) and campus infrastructure (e.g., the new energy center, security improvements).
The result: EMU has not sufficiently invested in its student housing facilities. The average age of EMU student housing facilities is 57 years, and student housing facilities face $200+ million in deferred maintenance.
To address these challenges, EMU and its partners will invest more than $200 million from 2022-2025 to construct new on-campus student housing, renovate existing housing, and demolish outdated housing facilities. The exact timeline and project details will be determined over the next several months in close partnership with the campus community.
External financing and expertise is required to ensure the long-term success of this transformative initiative. EMU is partnering with Gilbane Development Company, which will coordinate financing for this project. Specifically:
EMU carefully considered the advantages and disadvantages of self-funding the $200+ million needed to upgrade its student housing facilities, but rejected such an approach for several reasons:
The University also considered a slower approach that would construct/renovate one student housing facility every few years instead of consolidating construction/renovation in a shorter time frame of four years. That plan is not desirable for students or the campus community because: