On top of the new Thurgood Marshall Residence Hall expected to open this August, Morgan State University has added two new housing options in an effort to relieve its continued housing overage. 

The university has acquired over 350 housing units total at Altus Apartments and Towson Town Place for the 2022-2023 academic school year. 

Both located in Towson, Md, the school plans on leasing 152 bed spaces in Altus Apartments and 201 spaces in Towson Town Place, according to Douglass Gywnn, director of the Office of Residence Life and Housing.

Gwynn said Altus Apartments is already above capacity while other housing assignments are either nearing capacity or at capacity.

The recent additions to Morgan’s housing are working to relieve parts of the university’s ongoing housing coverage. With the exception of the COVID-19 ridden 2020, the university is not housing students in hotels for the first time in three years. 

Kevin Banks. vice president for student affairs, said off campus apartments were secured for upperclassmen housing needs.

“At this point, we’re in pretty good shape. I think majority of students have already applied for housing. Now we’re just trying to finalize what their locations are going to be,” said Banks.

Altus Apartments and Towson Town Place are both within six miles of Morgan’s campus, according to Apple Maps. Altus is about 5.5 miles away and Towson Town place is about 2.9 miles away when students take the fastest route. 

Off campus housing is usually considered for upperclassmen, but in past years freshmen and sophomores have lived off campus. Due to the housing coverage last year, there were several freshmen that lived off campus at Morgan View Apartments during their first year on campus. 

This year, freshmen and sophomores are expected to receive on campus housing according to Gwynn. They now have a new option to choose the new Thurgood Marshall Residence Hall. The university-managed and affiliated leased spaces have approximately 4,000 beds, said Gywnn. 

There is a possibility that there will be an even split of upperclassmen and freshman in the new Thurgood. According to Banks, the apartment style units are for upperclassmen. 

With the additional housing options for students comes a higher housing cost. There was roughly a 3 to 4 percent increase according to Gywnn.

The room and board for the new Thurgood Marshall Hall had to increase due to the new construction on campus. 

Banks said, “We did have an increase in the cost of housing, particularly like the new Thurgood Marshall, which is a new building. And the fact that it’s new construction, new building. It costs a little bit more.”

• Thurgood Marshall Hall Double One Bedroom, One Bathroom Suite- $5,507.00
• Thurgood Marshall Hall Double Two Bedroom, One Bathroom Suite- $5,007.00
• Thurgood Marshall Hall Single Four Bedroom, One Bathroom Suite- $6,048.00
• Towson Town Two Bedroom, Two Bathroom (Furnished) Double- $6,425.00
• Towson Town Two Bedroom, Two Bathroom (Furnished) Single- $6,625.00
• Towson Town Three Bedroom, One Bathroom (Furnished) Double- $6,425.00
• Towson Town Three Bedroom, One Bathroom (Furnished) Single- $6,625.00
• Altus Double- $5,700.00
• Altus Single- $6,425.00
• On Campus (Blount, Rawlings, Baldwin, Cummings, O’Connell, Harper-Tubman) Double- $3,482.00
• On Campus Single (Blount, Rawlings, Baldwin, Cummings, O’Connell, Harper-Tubman) – $4,181.00
• Off Campus Double  (Marble Hall & HH-Mid Town)- $4,395.00
• Off Campus Single (HH-Mid Town)- $4,723.50
• TM Hall-Single 4BR/1BA Suite- $6,048.00

Gallery • 3 Photos

Cayla Cade

The outside of an apartment at the Towson Town Place complex.

With these new housing choices, there are also new important criteria students must follow. Before receiving a housing assignment, students must be financially cleared through the Bursar’s office, registered for at least 12 credits and meet all institutional COVID-19 guidelines and requirements. 

Students that are not financially cleared by Aug. 8 will not receive a housing assignment, according to Gwynn.

Bus shuttles are provided for students to and from both apartment locations.

“We have already secured the shuttle services. We intend to run what we call an express or direct shuttle service, which will go directly to the Altus stop. I believe right now the plan is to go directly to the Altus stop at Towson town place and then directly to campus,” said Gywnn. 

There were some logistical issues in the very beginning when express services were provided last year. Morgan faculty members were made aware of the traffic flow and shuttle app issues. 

The shuttle app, TransLoc, was not working correctly at times year so students could not plan their arrival accordingly. 

Gwynn said, “We quickly had worked out the kinks with that. We do not anticipate those challenges starting come the fall.”

As of July 13, 2022, a wait list for new and returning student housing applications has been activated. The Office of Residence Life and Housing’s webpage states, “Morgan State University is experiencing record enrollment for the Fall 2022 academic semester. We have currently reached our applied housing capacity.” 

Students can look for off campus housing options on their own, with the help of the off-campus housing information resources provided by Morgan. Students can also lease with Morgan View apartments. It is 0.7 driving miles away from campus, 0.5 miles walking distance, and has a shuttle stop. 

Move-in dates for the upcoming semester will be announced to the residence life and housing website and social media soon.