There’s a new off-campus student housing option available for Boise State students starting this fall. The Osprey apartments, a new residence hall for sophomores and above, is set to open on Aug. 15.
Construction for The Osprey began in September 2023 in a partnership with Gardner Company. The new housing structure is located just a block from Ann Morrison Park on South Lusk Street. It includes four residential floors, each floor with a communal study space and different amenities such as a fitness center and an outside courtyard with fire pits and grills.
Senior Director of Housing and Residence Life, Lynda Tieck, emphasized the importance for student residents to take advantage of the outside common space.
“We’re going to work with dining to do a night with the chef, to come out and just do a big event out here,” Tieck said. “We’ve got a great partnership with dining, so I just want to make sure that we enjoy the space and that we teach students how to cook properly and just have a great experience grilling.”
Approximately 250 students are expected to move into The Osprey by the beginning of the school year. Each room layout varies in price depending on factors such as room size and number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
“Here, every room is a little bit different because it’s kind of triangular, so you’re going to have some odd spaces,” Tieck said. “It just allows for us to adjust so that if someone has a bigger space, they’re going to have to pay more for that versus someone who gets a smaller space.”
Compared to older student housing spaces on campus, The Osprey also offers more accessible spaces and features for students with physical disabilities.
“We’ve adapted some of those lessons learned from honors college to this building,” Tieck said. “Partnering with the EAC and making sure we’ve got some good accessibility, this building is accessible for hearing impaired and [visually impaired or wheelchairs users] students.”
The new housing complex was built to accommodate the 2.3% increase in overall enrollment at Boise State.
“That’s been a priority of our institution is housing more folks from Idaho and having an opportunity for Idaho students to come to Boise State and have this educational opportunity,” Tieck said. “People want to move to this space and kind of live in the west without being in the city.”
Emily Godtlibsen, an Osprey Resident Assistant and junior human resources major, highlighted the increase in space compared to her first-year living experience.
“I think it’s so nice, especially having my own bathroom and my own toilet,” Godtlibsen said. “It’s definitely a big upgrade from Chaffee.”
Other priorities for the Osprey apartment is the use of reliable technology. According to Tieck, around $300,000 was invested into IT for students to have accessible internet coverage.
“We want to make sure that if students are in this building, that IT can support them,” Tieck said. “We need to anticipate that need and make it so it’s easy for students.”
Osprey Resident Assistant and senior political science major Yahir Arteaga expressed the benefits of living off-campus.
“It’s like five minutes from downtown, [with] the best food spots ever,” Arteaga said. “You’ve got a great lineup of food. You’ve also got Buster’s Kitchen right around the corner.”
With The Osprey located a half-mile from campus, Resident Assistant and sophomore GIMM major Joseph Noyes advises future residents to plan their commutes accordingly.
“I would say it’s a little bit removed from campus,” Noyes said. “Wake up earlier, the hallways are really long, so take some time.”
The Osprey’s designed parking lot includes 76 parking spots and the cost for parking will be $1,000 for the year.
