Student Housing Expands to Meet Demand Created by “Having a University”
BLACKSBURG, VA — A new student housing development announced this week underscores a familiar trend across college towns: as universities continue to exist, developers continue to build housing specifically for students, often featuring luxury amenities and prices that suggest optimism about the word “affordable.”
According to industry reports, a joint venture led by Harrison Street is moving forward with a new student housing project, part of a broader expansion strategy concentrated around major academic corridors, including communities situated between Radford University and Virginia Tech.
Developers cited strong enrollment numbers, stable demand, and long-term confidence in higher education as reasons for continued investment. The project is expected to include modern amenities designed to appeal to students seeking convenience, proximity to campus, and the psychological comfort of stainless steel appliances.
Harrison Street is no stranger to the region, or to the student-housing model more broadly. The firm has built a national portfolio around university-adjacent developments that emphasize high turnover, premium rents, and predictable demand cycles tied to academic calendars—an approach that has proven profitable, if not always stabilizing for surrounding communities.
Housing analysts note that while student-specific developments increase overall unit counts, they do not necessarily relieve broader housing pressure in nearby towns, where non-student renters and longtime residents often face rising costs tied to proximity-driven demand rather than local wages.
For communities like those between Radford and Blacksburg, the student-driven economy has historically arrived in waves: booms during enrollment surges and construction cycles, followed by quieter periods when students graduate, relocate, or cycle out, leaving behind financial and social gaps that are more difficult to fill than they are to market.
Local officials welcomed the project as an economic investment while acknowledging ongoing concerns about affordability, infrastructure strain, and the increasingly abstract distinction between “student housing” and “housing students can afford.”
Some residents argue that the long-term sustainability of the region depends less on attracting ever-larger student populations and more on retention—keeping graduates, workers, and creatives rooted in the community after diplomas are printed and leases expire. Without that continuity, critics say, development risks functioning less like growth and more like extraction.
Construction timelines have not yet been finalized, but developers expressed confidence that demand will remain strong, citing a time-tested formula: as long as people keep enrolling in universities, they will continue needing somewhere to live.
Editorial context
Snide Studios has positioned itself as part of a broader effort to make the region more attractive to stay in, not merely pass through—an attempt to complement the student economy with cultural, creative, and independent infrastructure that persists after commencement season. Whether that approach can counterbalance decades of churn-driven development remains an open question, but one increasingly asked by communities accustomed to being marketed to, rather than invested in. And the approach is not elitism.
