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Hillsborough Community College Offers Students The Amenities Of A 4-Year University

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By ADAM EMERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 3, 2008

As college dorm life goes, this place is posh: deluxe kitchen, washer and dryer, inclusive cable access and high-speed Internet.

While such amenities are proliferating at apartments near four-year universities, you typically won't find them at a community college. In that sense, developers say, Hillsborough Community College is a pioneer.

HCC officials showed off their newly built apartments today. The apartments opened to students this week at the college's Dale Mabry campus. No other Florida community college offers on-campus living, and developers say that few others exist nationwide.

But the interest was great among HCC students, administrators say. And the developer, Atlanta-based Place Properties, found a market among students who want a four-year university experience at a community college.

The apartment complex, at the southwest corner of the campus, can house 420 students at below-market rate prices.

The complex partly made the difference between choosing HCC and St. Petersburg College for first-year student Aurora Clegg. Clegg, a St. Petersburg resident who moved into her new apartment Wednesday, was accepted to the University of South Florida. But, with a scholarship, she would pay no tuition at HCC.

"I want the four-year experience, and I don't want to worry about the money," said Clegg, who is sharing the apartment with two roommates and paying $505 for her own bedroom and bathroom.

Reporter Adam Emerson can be reached at (813) 259-8285 or aemerson@tampatrib.com.

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