Kate Haas

Media Writing Dr. M

10/25/20
How The Hub Blacksburg is Changing the Standard of Living

The new apartment complex in Blacksburg called, The Hub is set to open in Fall of 2021
and will change the standard of living for off-campus students forever.

Patrick Henry Dr. is the target area for affordable off campus housing at Virginia Tech.
This past March, the City of Blacksburg signed off on building the largest and most upscale
apartment complex in town. The Hub Blacksburg is still in the process of being built, but already
has students racing to sign leases. Starting prices as low as $890 per person in a four-bedroom
apartment, The Hub Blacksburg will pave the way for increasing the cost of living off campus in
Blacksburg.

“The Hub Blacksburg competes directly with other high end off-campus apartments
because it caters to people only wanting to live in upscale areas,” said Olivia Rose, a 2020
student ambassador for The Hub.

“I could see the construction of The Hub Blacksburg resulting in higher off-campus
pricing in the long run, but I think it’s so worth it,” said Rose, a member of Delta Sigma Pi at
Virginia Tech, one of the many organizations signing leases to have its members live in the same
complex. “I wouldn’t want to be an ambassador for anyone else”.

The options for off-campus living in Blacksburg are endless. However, over the past
couple years, older complexes like Terrace View have been torn down and rebuilt into more
modern style buildings. The Hub will be joining the newly built Terrace View complex which is
located in a student friendly area. It will be designed specifically for student needs and student
housing.
 The Town of Blacksburg plays a crucial role in evaluating the location and infrastructure
for big development projects, like The Hub. In 2019, Blacksburg Housing and Community
Development were forced to create more student housing in response to the overcrowding of
students at Virginia Tech.

“Town Council approved this rezoning which took down some apartments, but added
many more than were torn down,” said Susan Anderson, a member of the Blacksburg Housing
and Community Development Advisory Board since 2006. “There will be a net gain of 997
bedrooms”.

The Town of Blacksburg is strategically locating newer apartments, like The Hub, in
locations where water and sewer are readily available. In doing so, the construction companies
are spending less money on infrastructure and more on amenities. This approach to housing
projects in Blacksburg is upscaling the quality of living one apartment at a time.

“It is my hope that this will encourage our older student complexes to maintain and
improve their units to better compete with the newer additions to our town,” said Anderson, a
key voice on matters concerning low and moderate income programs, projects and policies.

“More students are purchasing leases in newer, luxurious complexes,” said a member of
the Custom Relations Team for the Virginia Tech Off-Campus Housing Service. This
emphasizes how the gap between affordable student housing and high-end living is becoming
very thin. The term “student housing” will no longer be seen as housing affordable by students.

The Hub Blacksburg embodies the concept of high-quality housing by being the first
student complex in Blacksburg to be five stories, have a parking garage, include exorbitant
amenities, and hire student ambassadors in order to promote their community. The Hub
Blacksburg project set the bar high for high class living for future generations of Virginia Tech
students.
“Certainly, students can live next door to each other and be wonderful and happy neighbors, but
they want to do it somewhere they can trust, like The Hub”.