Next semester 400 students will get to experience the independence of living off-campus. This includes drinking rights in the apartments for those who are 21 or older.

Redstone Lofts, the newest housing on UVM’s campus, will open August 1 – just in time for the fall semester.

Doug Nedde, one of the founding partners of Redstone, a local real estate company that created Redstone Lofts, explained that the company had to go through a selection process with UVM. After they were chosen, they went though a relatively fast phase of design, planning and permitting.

“Our main goal in creating [Redstone Lofts] was creating a product that the students really desired,” Nedde said. “So, we did a lot of research and surveys in terms of what the students at UVM wanted in their on-campus independent housing and I think this project reflects that.”

This included the ability to drink in the apartments.

“If they’re 21, they can drink in their apartments but we are not allowing drinking in the common areas, which is typical of any apartment complex,” Nedde said.

While the University does not have a dry campus, there is a “dry residence hall policy,” Annie Stevens, Associate Vice President of UVM, said.

“The Lofts will not be a part of the residence hall system,” Stevens said. “So, no policies will be changing on campus.”

Because the Lofts are not owned by UVM, they are not necessarily bound to the “dry hall” policy, she said.

“All students living there are expected to adhere to the laws of the state of Vermont,” Stevens said. “UVM Police will be responsible for responding to any policy violations or infractions of the law.”

Sophomore Hagan Dooley will be living in Redstone Lofts next year and said he knows people will be drinking in their apartments but that it won’t be much different than the drinking that already goes on in the dorms.

“Hopefully they’re 21 – I think [drinking] will be the same as the dorms,” Dooley said.

To help with any issues, residents will have an onsite property manager, a maintenance person, and two community advisors who will be employed by the company.

The community advisors will be students who live in the apartments and will help with issues that arrive when the property manager is off hours.

“I knew that [the community advisors] would be there,” Dooley said. “I do think it’s a good idea to have some organization and community. There should be someone to talk to instead of some random person who doesn’t really care.”

Another future resident, sophomore Jake Perl, said that he will be 21 while living in Redstone Lofts.

“I pretty much turn 21 before everybody,” Perl said. “I’m planning on having a few friends over – not any big parties.”

He also added that having community advisors is O.K. to a certain extent.

“If they were going to treat it as though it’s off-campus housing, they wouldn’t have [community advisors],” Perl said. “They should have limits.”