For students who choose to live off campus, a new housing option could be coming soon to a neighborhood near St. Thomas.

Plans for a 16-unit apartment building on Marshall Avenue were submitted in October to the St. Paul City Council just hours before a yearlong building suspension went into effect. The building plan submitted by the developer consists of four-bedroom apartments with underground parking.

Located between Wilder and Wheeler streets, the new housing project would be within walking distance of St. Thomas. This proximity could draw more students to off-campus living. For junior Anna Hoffman, moving off campus was an easy decision.

“I did not want to be under the supervision of a resident adviser,” Hoffman said. “And I also did not want to be in such close proximity to so many other students.”

When deciding whether to live on or off campus, there are many factors that influence students’ decisions, ranging from affordability and proximity to campus to the amenities offered and meal plan options.

“It’s way cheaper because I’m able to buy my own groceries and not depend on a meal plan,” Hoffman said. “And my rent is cheaper:”

To address continued growth of off-campus living options, the St. Thomas campus master plan includes potential building projects that would provide a variety of living choices in a move to compete with increasing off-campus options. The plan includes four new residential buildings to be built on campus. This includes two apartment-style buildings that would compete with off-campus apartment options.

Residence Life Director Aaron Macke said no building plans are finalized yet, but he said the goal is to provide quality housing for students to live on campus.

Macke said St. Thomas currently offers approximately 2,500 beds for the 6,000 undergraduate students. The master plan would add an additional 441 beds, but filling those beds is not guaranteed. Of the beds currently offered on campus, Macke estimates 98 percent are occupied.

“We aren’t a campus that houses every one of our graduates … It’s really hard to know if we have enough beds,” Macke said. “This year we opened with empty beds.”

Hoffman hopes the university can make student housing options feel more like home — something she said comes with living off campus.

“Maybe make the apartment and dorms more personalized, a normal apartment style,” Hoffman said. “Make them more homey and less of a dorm… add color and not systematic furniture.”

With no on-campus housing requirement for students, Macke said the decision of where to live is different for each individual student. He does believe, however, that the best amenities are built into on-campus living.

“People select housing and they pick what they pick,” Macke said. “There’s lots of variables; where people choose to live is multifaceted.”

As for the potential 16-unit apartment building on Marshall Avenue, the ruling will come after the plans are reviewed by the city planning staff. The review will look at what ways the building would impact the surrounding area and the concerns of the neighborhood.

Benton Johnson can be reached at bcjohnson@stthomas.edu.