WACO, Texas (KXXV) — Students on Baylor University's campus will soon have more options for housing following an additional off-site project in the works. An Austin developer has been in contact with Seventh & James Baptist Church, which plans on selling a portion of their property to the private developer.
- A developer in Austin plans on turning the property from a church into a student housing project
- Baylor students said they need more housing on campus
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
It’s no secret to Baylor University students that...
“They don’t have a lot of space for Sophomores and upperclassmen to live on campus," said Baylor student Maura Okula.
Maura Okula is a senior at Baylor. She said the university could use more housing.
And that could all soon change. Seventh & James Baptist Church, a historic church of 127 years plans to sell a portion of its property to a developer out in Austin to create a student housing project.
“I definitely think more housing is needed, especially with the growing size of Baylor every single year. The classes continue to grow in size, and more students are on campus. I definitely think more housing would be beneficial," said Okula.
A spokesperson for Baylor has confirmed that the university had no involvement in this project.
But Okula is right. In 2019, the university enrolled a little over 18,000 students, and by 2025, Baylor enrolled nearly 20,000 students.
Jake Johnson, a senior at Baylor, said he’s a little concerned about how this will all impact the cost of living.
“I’m a little worried about the development just raising student prices overall, with it being in proximity to campus, it being a new development, and that prices over here at student development are already really high. I’m worried about this one raising prices even more," said Baylor student Jake Johnson.
Okula said Baylor has been updating their student housing, but she can see where more space is needed for the growing university.
“But I definitely think that the lack of student housing for older students is a little bit of an issue," said Okula.
While the church has no say in how much the housing could cost for students
Pastor Erin Conaway said they plan to sell the sanctuary and parking lot off of Bagby and 5th. Pastor Conaway told me in a statement, “We love being in the Baylor neighborhood and are excited the students will be even closer to us.”
