Residents of NKU’s East Residential Village received an email on March 20, informing them that their current housing option would no longer be available starting Fall 2026. The East Village will permanently close starting next academic year and students who had reserved spots to live there have been offered other options.
Reasons for this change include the current occupancy rate of these residential halls, with Northern Terrace at less than 40% occupancy and Callahan at about 50% occupancy, according to Brandon Thompson, NKU’s VP of Student Affairs. Many students in these halls are without dorm neighbors, missing out on the community of a traditional college dorm setup. With such a low occupancy, maintenance issues in vacant rooms often go unnoticed longer than they would in fully occupied spaces.
In addition to occupancy, the distance of East Village from most of the campus offerings, particularly dining services, has also been an issue. According to Thompson, some students had expressed a desire for a dining location in the East Village, but after Callahan Bistro closed in 2022, occupancy rates have not allowed for this to be an option. This change will instead consolidate all students living near the existing dining hall.
“This decision was truly made with the students in mind because of the feedback that we were getting about the experience living in East Village,” says Thompson…