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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 1986)
Tuesday, February 18, 1986/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local S area facing surplus in apartments By GEORGEANN HUM 'S PHREY Reporter i 'A Texas A&M economist says be cause builders were a little too opti- Htic in predicting the community’s housing needs, College Station is Tiow facing a surplus in apartment jdwellings, in drastic contrast to the filiation only a few short years ago. B)r. Arthur Wright, an economist Rhe Texas Real Estate Research Center, says College Station alone ■ 26,000 apartment units, 5,000 more than the 21,000 units needed for a city its size. The excess housing hast created a 25 percent vacancy rati in the city, he says. *|,i|We were too optimistic in the ding of these apartment com- lekes,” Wright says. “During 1981 e kids were dropping out of the University because they couldn’t find a place to live.” He says the current surplus can be attributed to low enrollment and the lack of growth in the private sector. “Almost all the cities in Texas with the exception of Dallas and Austin have surplus housing,” Wright says. “Dallas and Austin lead Texas with a 90 percent occupancy rate. Most cit ies around College Station have an occupancy rate between 75 and 85 percent.” Wright says duplex housing in College Station used to cost about $450 per month but now is down to about $300 per month. He says a large percentage of duplexes are va cant despite the drop. Louise Barker, assistant manager for Tree House Apartments, says students account for the biggest part of the apartment occupancy rate in the College Station area. “A lot of students prefer duplexes to apartment complexes because of the freedom the residents have re garding pets and partying,” she says. “Although the majority of duplexes are more expensive than apart ments, some students would rather pay more than sacrifice some free dom.” Most apartment complexes offer lower rates during the summer, giv ing students an incentive to stay and work or go to school tQ keep their oc cupancy rate up, she says. “There is a definite difference in types of complexes — there <ire stu dent and family complexes,” she says. She says the apartments in the College Station area are primarily — In Advance — letcalf to speak at Sult/s Texas A&M basketball Coach iielby Metcalf will answer ques ts about his team and the up- bming Southwest Conference psketball tournament at his Sul- ; ly’s Symposium speech Wednes- d;iv |Sully’s Symposium, sponsored by Lambda Sigma, the sopho more honor society, will begin at 11:50 a.m. and last until 12:30 p.m., says Kevin Carreathers, ad viser for Lambda Sigma. Lambda Sigma will sponsor a symposium every Wednesday through April 16. ■laments to speak at A&M Former Gov. Bill Clements will ipeak about his attempt to re- laim the governor’s office JVednesday at 8 p.m. in 201 Me- IDorial Student Center. ■ Clements’ address will be the ■hird installment of MSC Political ■orum’s gubernatorial series, ■he group is trying to bring each J ol the major gubernatorial candi- Hates to campus this year. An open reception will follow Clem- ; pits’ speech. Republican candidates Tom fler and Kent Hance took art in the series last semester. Ann Levy, director of national programming for Political Fo rum, said Democrat Andrew Briscoe will visit March 5, and the group is trying to bring Gov. Mark White to A&M. “One main goal in Political Fo rum is to present non-partisan political programming,” she said. She said the gubernatorial se ries, by presenting each candi date, is meant to educate voters and make them more likely to vote. Hance says Clements owes him an apology Associated Press AUSTIN — Republican guberna torial candidate Kent Hance Mon day urged former Gov. Bill Clem ents to apologize for calling him “ignorant” about the number of state employees on the payroll dur ing Clements’ years in office. Clements was governor from 1979-83, and a recent Dallas Morn ing News analysis showed state em ployment rose during 6.3 percent during those four years although Clements had pledged to cut 25,000 employees from state payrolls. Hance said Clements called him “ignorant” in a recent interview in McAllen because Hance had said the number of employees had increased while Clements was in office. “I believe that Gov. Clements owes me an apology,” Hance said in a statement. Reggie Bashur, press secretary for Clements, said, “We stand by our figure of a 3,700-employee reduc tion. We worked hard to establish a system to identify the number of full-time equivalent employees in all the state agencies and commissions. We never intended that higher edu cation be included in those num bers.” Bashur said Clements had no comment on Hance’s statement. Hance also said Clements could not be elected in November because he “makes spontaneous emotional responses to anyone who disagrees with him, whether that person is a public official or not. That’s the rea son he lost in 1982 and that’s why he can’t get elected in 1986.” Bashur said independent polls and those commissioned by Clem ents showed he was the only candi date who could defeat Democratic incumbent Mark White. White de feated Clements in 1982. In other political developments, Railroad Commission candidate John Pouland said he thought there should be a limit on how much cam paign money comes from political action committees. He said he would reject all PAC contributions. Round trip. Anywhere we go. ✓ '{> This Spring Break, if you and your friends are thinking about heading to the slopes, the beach or just home for a visit, Greyhound* can take you there. For only $86 or less, round trip. From February 1 through April 30, all you do is show us your college student I.D. card when you purchase your ticket. Your ticket will then be good for travel throughout your Spring Break. So this Spring Break, get a real break. Go anywhere Greyhound goes for $86 or less. For more information, call Greyhound. Must present a valid college student I D. card upon purchase. No other discounts apply. Tickets are nontransferable and good for travel on Greyhound Lines, Inc., and other participating carriers. Certain restrictions apply. Oiler effective 2/1/86 through 4/30/86. Offer limited. Not valid in Canada. r GO GREYHOUND And leave the driving to us; 114 E. Walton Drive, 696-0209 ) 1986Greyhound Lines, Inc. TIRED OF THAT OLD TEXAS TWO—STEP? Why not learn something new! Swing, Foxtrot, Waltz. Tango, Cha-Cha, Rumba, and other. CLASSIC BALLROOM DANCE INSTRUCTION Classes at Jazzercise every Tuesday. 8:00 p.m. Call 268-4386 for information, (Small classes at reasonable prices.) for students and the ones in Bryan are family-oriented. Barker says students tend to con gregate in the same complexes in or der to have the atmosphere asso ciated with their own age groups and lifestyles. “A definite plus for occupancy rate in apartment housing is simply the continuous problem with the parking situation on campus,” Bar ker says. FOR THE SUMMER OF YOUR LIFE! HARWOOD STUDENT TOURS ,o EUROPE And The South Pacific! Nationally Acclaimed The BEST since 1959 TOP QUALITY FIRST CLASS HOTELS FUN CO ED GROUPS GREAT TOUR LEADERS NO REGIMENTATION 15-34 DAYS 4-10 COUNTRIES PLUS GREEK ISLE CRUISES FROM $1195 PLUS AIR CALL COLLECT (512) 478-9343 ipl< has a great deal to do with how nigh the occupancy rate'will be. “People like to be close to where they work as well as where they at tend classes and this is an advantage of College Station apartment hou sing,” she says. 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