There’s a difference between wants and needs. Whether balancing school and work schedules or graciously asking for the support of family or government financial aid, students need to be frugal to afford both Ramen and rent. “You know there’s nothing like this in Duluth at all,” said Mark Lambert, owner of BlueStone Lofts. “Not the amenities we got, not the beautiful units, not the location to UMD. If you want to be on campus-edge and live on the latest, newest product, we’ve created that for you. Prior to us doing this, there (was) just some old apartments and old houses.”
Rent is one of the highest expenses in college. For on-campus housing at UMD, room and board is almost $7,000 for an academic year.
Moving off campus, students can expect to pay at least an average $716 a month, according to the 2012 Housing Indicator Report conducted by the City of Duluth Community Development Division. This cost is typically divided up between all the roommates in the unit.
At BlueStone Lofts, the newest apartment addition to Duluth, located right across from UMD, tenants are expected to pay a higher price.
While the apartment complex offers a variety of layout options, ranging from studio to four-bedroom units, a two-bedroom unit costs a total of $1,490, or $745 per person every month.
This summer, UMD senior Ethan Heise and his roommate were searching for a place to call home. They were both willing to pay up to $600 a month, but when their initial plans fell through, they decided to sign an 11-month lease at BlueStone.
“I was paying $300 a month for four years almost, flat,” Heise said. “I think it would be crazy to pay this much money for more than a year. It’s way over half of my monthly income.”
Heise, who works fulltime and averages about 40 hours per week, fully pays for rent and utilities on his own.
“There’s no way a person could afford this at $10 an hour, absolutely not,” Heise said.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), “affordable housing” is defined as housing payments that amount to no more than 30 percent of a household’s gross income.
BlueStone may have a stunning sticker price, but property manager Peggy Walsh said the amenities are all worth it.
“The apartments come furnished at no extra charge,” Walsh said. “There (are) granite countertops, stainless steel appliances . . . nine-foot ceilings, six-foot windows . . . big shower heads.”
Tenants at BlueStone are also responsible for paying their Comfort System bills (estimated to be $30-$50 per month) and, if they choose to park at BlueStone, $18 per month for above-ground parking or $95 for underground.
While students aren’t the only ones living at BlueStone, the relationship between the apartment complex and UMD seems to imply just that. However, Walsh said students only occupy about 65 percent of the units.
“We have a mixed community,” Walsh said. “We have older people, retired, families and professionals young and old. It’s a good mix. We encourage a very respectful living environment. It’s not Animal House or anything like that.”
BlueStone also offers amenities like a yoga/Pilates studio, a fitness gym, tanning beds, high-speed wireless Internet and satellite TV.
“Nice living space, that’s been my amenity,” Heise said. “I’ve been living in crappy houses for five years—musky, dirty. There’s brand-new furniture, brand-new floors; that’s my most prevalent amenity. I could care less about a tanning bed.”
If one were to opt out of the luxurious living at BlueStone and instead rent an average unit somewhere else in Duluth, the monthly cost of similar amenities and rent would still be less than BlueStone.
An unlimited monthly membership to Duluth’s Z Studio costs $40 per month. It’s $30 for a monthly Anytime Fitness membership, and an unlimited monthly tanning package at Baja Tanning is $75 (tax not included). Add $40 a month for CenturyLink wireless Internet and $20 a month for Dish Network, and it would cost a total of $205 a month for amenities similar to those offered at BlueStone.
Take that amount and add it to the average cost of rent in Duluth, $716, and you get a grand total of $921 a month.
“If you check the prices of these same units down in Minneapolis, they’re about 25 percent higher,” Lambert said. “So we really are a great value in terms of what we’re able to offer here.”
Although that may be true, Minneapolis has a population surpassing Duluth by over 300,000. A comparable city would be Fargo, with a population of roughly 107,000, compared to Duluth’s 86,000.
“I don’t think it’s a fair argument (comparing Duluth to Minneapolis),” Heise sad. “Duluth is a totally different city.”
But overall, Heise said his opinion of BlueStone is good. Within walking distance to UMD, along with amenities and responsible living, many students would want to live at BlueStone. But, it’s the fact of whether or not they can afford it and whether or not they need it.
“You pay for what you want,” Heise said.
To see more about BlueStone's development plans see Building a BlueStone, not a Dinkytown.
BY KIM HYATT
hyatt045@d.umn.edu