Students have an additional housing option, the university is making money and jobs are created.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is considering building a student residence just west of the river on North Avenue. The project makes sense and should be completed.

The possible structure is actually quite impressive and it is a situation that benefits multiple outlets. Students would have an additional housing option, the university would make money and jobs would be created. One general negative seems to be impeding a stampede of positives.

The list of positive features starts with the cleanliness that would come with this proposed plan. A new place would inherently be hygienic, which alone is something most campus-area residences cannot truthfully claim.

Part of this is that landlords really do not have any major incentive to have a quality product and some are known to be on the sluggish side when it comes to repairs. They are in the business to make money and they can make that money each year with little effort. A new residence might make some of them compete at least more than they are now, which would be a dual benefit.

The most attractive feature of this plan though is the bang for the buck. For as low as $580 per month, a student can have his or her own bedroom that comes furnished — utilities, cable television and Internet included.

Anyone who lives in a typical campus area residence where utilities are not included can surely appreciate this feature. Especially after trying to afford the borderline insane gas prices this winter. Again, this project might actually guide some landlords to improve current units so they will better retain heat.

The shared features of the possible student residence are on par with the best apartments in Milwaukee. A computer lab, convenience store, fitness center, late night café, dining hall, sports courts and a shuttle service to campus are only some of the highlights that the survey Web site has listed.

It is important to note that the company involved in this project specializes in student housing, making it apparent why the roster has been arranged in a classy manner.

It’s what the entire college experience represents that could come into jeopardy with this project, making it unappealing to many students. Freedom, complete and uncompromised freedom, is what every person desires and a few rules could have many students forgetting the major benefits of this plan.

The experiences had in the dorms as a freshman are unparalleled and awesome because at no other time in life are you joined with that many people in your same general position in life. But there is a reason people move on and that reason does not seem to be removed from the new student residence.

Responsibility and freedom are uplifting feelings that are an important part of growing up and somehow better attained through a beat-up East Side residence with squeaky wood floors. Any university-sponsored living arrangement seems to have a safety that does not provide for the growth most students prefer to feel as they move through the years.

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