photo by: Nick Krug

Stouffer Place Apartments, 1835 Ousdahl Road, are pictured on Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in the Central District of the University of Kansas.

Fall classes began Monday at the University of Kansas, and students searching for a room to rent at the last minute will find a few available on campus.

Sarah Waters, KU’s director of student housing, said KU was still working to fill the Stouffer Place Apartments, 1835 Ousdahl Road.

Two years after breaking ground as part of the Central District’s redevelopment project, the new Stouffer Place has opened its doors to renters.

Located along West 19th Street, the complex has capacity for 708 residents. Waters wouldn’t say how many apartments were still open because tenants were still moving in and the numbers wouldn’t be official.

Student Housing is currently working with faculty and staff who are looking for short-term living space.

Although Stouffer Place has not been marketed for families, unlike the previous Stouffer Place that was demolished in 2016, Waters said a lot of guest faculty who come for a semester or year need housing.

Each resident at Stouffer pays a little more than $10,500 a year for a private bedroom and bathroom, then shares a living room and kitchen area. It’s very similar to an apartment off campus, Waters said, but each unit has a washer and dryer, plus internet and cable included in the rate.

“For a long time, KU didn’t have the capacity to house everyone,” Waters said.

After their first year, many students wanted apartment living. However once the Jayhawker Towers complex, which houses 750 students, was full, there were no other apartment options on campus.

“We were telling folks, ‘Sorry, we’re full,'” Waters said.

But with Stouffer Place, KU has something brand new to offer students.

“We are building up being known as an apartment provider,” she said.

Most first-year students are not permitted to live in university apartments. One major exception is KU students in athletics, but that is a very structured environment, Waters said.

More than 5,000 students will be living on campus this year, in dorms and apartments, Waters said.

“About 80 percent of the new students (freshmen) each year live on campus,” Waters said.

Currently, unofficially, KU has 3,200 to 3,300 full-time freshmen living on campus for the fall semester.

Meanwhile, Waters touted the new Central District.

“It’s done, the final pieces are coming into place,” she said. “The bus line has shifted, Irving Hill Road is open, and you can easily take a bus from Oliver (Hall) and Downs (Hall) to Stouffer and all the way up Daisy Hill.”