Privacy with community
Newly-constructed Oak Place Apartments accepting residents

Who said cramped dorm rooms, communal bathrooms and coin-operated laundry machines were a necessary rite of passage for college students?

At the newly-constructed Oak Place Apartments on 5050 Oak Street, residents can enjoy lockable one-person bedrooms, private bathrooms and in-room laundry machines. Each apartment offers a living room fully furnished with a brown micro suede sectional sofa, coffee table and entertainment center. Each suite’s kitchen features a dining counter with barstools, dishwasher, refrigerator and stove. Each bedroom contains a full-size bed, bathroom, dresser and computer desk. 

Despite the privacy, Oak Place will promote a strong sense of community, said Eric Grospitch, director of residential life at UMKC.

Following are some examples of Oak Place’s community-building amenities:

• Educational seminars are offered to undergraduates and home purchasing programs are available for older students.

• Two courtyards are available for residents to play sports, grill burgers and hang out at picnic tables.

• The community center features a pool table and Plasma TV.

• A 24-hour fitness center features treadmills, bicycles, elliptical machines, weights and flat-screen TVs.

•  A restaurant and Sodexho convenience store is set to open in mid-September.

"It’s privacy with community,” Grospitch said. “Probably no other apartment complex in Kansas City will offer activities and education-specific programs for students.“

Looking for a place to live?
As of July 28, Oak Place was 73% full. Rent prices include water, sewer, electricity, expanded cable with HBO and high-speed Internet (WiFi and Ethernet). Each floor also contains a computer lab.

Rental rates are listed at: http://www.oakplace.info/amenities.html.

The big picture        
With its student development programs, Oak Place will help promote a residential campus, said Tadros Abdelmalek, residential life coordinator at Oak Place. Plans for a new student union and library expansions are also creating a stronger community at UMKC, Abdelmalek said.

Increasing gas prices could also cause more students to consider moving onto campus, as evidenced by a gas price calculator on the Oak Place Web site. The calculator shows that with a 20-mile round-trip commute 21 days out of the month, a 15 miles per gallon vehicle and $3.98/gallon gas prices, a student would spend $216.44 for gas each month.

To learn more about Oak Place Apartments, call the leasing office at 816-561-0847 or visit www.oakplace.info.

Access the gas price calculator at http://www.umkc.edu/housing/savingscalculator.asp.