Apartment building donated to JC

Jamestown College has received a big gift: a whole building.

Reuben and Clarice Liechty donated an apartment complex at 906 Eighth Ave. N.E. as part of their 2008 donation of $1 million for the renovation of Taber Hall. It will be used for student housing starting the fall of the 2009-2010 school year.

Rather than the Liechtys finding a buyer for the building, selling it and then donating the money to the college, they just gave the building to the college in December.

“This is something that anybody (with properties) can do and get a tax benefit, and it benefits the community,” Clarice Liechty said.

When the Liechtys donated the building they had to find a certified appraiser to decide on the value of the building, so the business agreement is considered “aboveboard” or open and without trickery, Liechty said.

Reuben Liechty said the building was appraised at $350,000.

The apartment complex is only part of the $1 million donation, the rest will be money, Clarice Liechty said.

The complex has 12 units; 11 have two bedrooms and one is a single. There are also eight garages, said Alicia Bryant, property manager at Better Homes Property Management, who managed the property for the Liechtys.

Current residents of the building were notified of the ownership change in January and are being given to the end of June to move out, Bryant said.

“We gave them six months to find a new place to live, and generally we only need to give them 30 days,” she said.

The cost for renting a two-bedroom unit was between $425 and $445 a month, Bryant said.

According to Lori Listopad, Jamestown College, director of residence life, the college plans on using the 11 two-bedroom units to house either three or four students each. The students will be charged the college’s standard housing cost of $2,196 for the academic year, or about $244 a month.

“It will be run similar to other residence halls,” Listopad said.

Residence halls have all the amenities including Internet access. The students only pay for cable TV and laundry, Listopad said.

According to Gary Van Zinderen, Jamestown College dean of students, the building was in “wonderful condition” and the only will only require minor maintenance work like painting.

Jamestown College is excited about its new acquisition

“This is awesome,” Van Zinderen said.

The apartment building will help the college with residence life, and the money the college makes from the building will go to pay for the renovations on Taber Hall, he said.

“It’s two things in one, a very generous gift,” Van Zinderen said.

When this school year started, Jamestown College was tight for space.

“Last year we had more students than we had space for,” Van Zinderen said.

Which lead to about 20 students living in apartments rented by Jamestown College.

Listopad said Jamestown College has about 700 students currently living on campus,

The benefits for those students are numerous, Van Zinderen said.

“It’s amazing when students live on campus … they’re in the heart of things, making connections, learning and studying … They don’t need to worry about cooking, and they are learning and growing together as students,” he said.

Listopad and her staff plan to make living in the building an honor or reward for students.

Some of the possible requirements for students who would want to live in the building would be a GPA requirement, and a clean campus violations record for about a year, Listopad said.

Listopad said the college has plans for the new building for summer housing as well.

“I have a feeling this apartment will be an addition to or replace our current summer housing.”

Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by e-mail at brodgers@jamestownsun.com

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