When Brigham Young University finishes replacing the 150 Wyview Village trailers with 426 new air-conditioned apartment units, it will almost have enough units to take care of a little more than 15 percent of its married students.
"We have 8,200 married students," said BYU spokesman Brent Harker."It'll help (having the new units come on line) and it'll take some pressure off," but Harker said it won't suddenly bring rent rates down or cure the housing crunch in the valley.
Harker said fewer students will be forced to find housing in the outlying communities than the past couple of years.
Wymount Terrace currently supplies 898 units for married students.
The new Wyview Village apartments are two- and three-bedroom unfurnished units in 30 buildings. Some will be 18-plexes and others 12-plexes on three floors, said Gene Libutti, director of facilities and planning.
Some of the apartments will be handicapped-accessible.
All will include more square footage and storage than similar units at the Wymount facility but will not include individual washer and dryer hookups as did the trailers that stood in Wyview Village.
As in the Wymount Terrace complex, central laundry facilities will be provided in a separate building.
The complex has play yards for children, basketball courts and a central meeting house that will serve as an LDS church.
Phase One of the construction for Wyview Village has begun and is expected to be finished by July 1997. The final and fourth phase will be completed in July 1998 with full occupancy expected for that fall.
Harker said the total cost of the new multi-colored brick and stucco apartments is not being released, but he did say rents would increase slightly for student couples. The average rent at Wymount Terrace is $400 a month.
Those who've been renting Wyview Village trailers will be offered first options on the new apartments as they become available, said Libutti.
Harker said anyone interested is invited to apply and deposit $25 with the Housing Office at the university. Applications will be dealt with on a first-come, first-served basis.
The access road on 2230 North will be closed and a new access opened on 200 West, said Libutti. An existing access from University Avenue will remain in place.