A new 15-story, mixed-use building will be home for UCF and Valencia College students living at the downtown campus that opens in fall 2019. Ustler Development, Inc. and Development Ventures Group, Inc. released new details this week about the student housing project, named “UnionWest at Creative Village.”
In addition to 600 beds for students, the building will have 105,000 square feet of classrooms, student services space and an integrated parking garage, in addition to restaurant and retail on the ground floor.
Already under construction, UnionWest is located across the street from the new UCF Dr. Phillips Academic Commons.
Although the building is privately owned and developed, Ustler Development and Development Ventures Group have selected UCF to manage the residential student housing. UnionWest will serve both UCF and Valencia College students enrolled at the shared downtown campus, which opens in August 2019.
“UnionWest is an innovative mixed-use building based on partnerships and a shared commitment to providing the ideal environment for an urban university” said Craig Ustler, president of Ustler Development. “Our aim is to give students a one-of-a-kind location in the heart of this burgeoning district.”
UnionWest will offer three different floorplans for student housing, with both shared and private bedrooms available. Apartment-style suites include kitchenettes and in-suite living rooms. Each residential floor also has a lounge, called Gathering Rooms, with a full kitchen, various seating areas and adjacent laundry facilities. The building also includes a resident-only club room with an outdoor patio overlooking downtown Orlando and Central Park at Creative Village.
“The opportunity to live, study and work downtown is a real game changer for our students,” said Thad Seymour, vice provost for UCF Downtown. “Many are already engaged in internships and service learning experiences in the area. With the addition of the new academic buildings and student housing, it will help accelerate the creation of an innovation district in downtown Orlando.”
In addition, UnionWest will be home to Valencia College’s Walt Disney School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality, which will include a world-class training facility for students studying culinary arts, baking and pastry, hospitality, beverage and bar management and entrepreneurship. This state-of-the-art facility will be one of the largest of its kind in the United States, according to Ustler Development and Development Ventures Group.
UnionWest will open to students in August 2019. Rental rates and additional details will be available in fall 2018.
For more information, visit UCF Housing.