The cottages are one of the nontraditional residences that are offered to Mount students. Currently, there are four cottages on campus each housing 10 students. There is a new cottage being built that should be ready to house students in fall 2021. This two-story cottage will be different from four current cottages because it plans to house 29 students instead of 10 with single and double rooms rather than just single. It will also be 7,239 square feet.
The idea of building a new cottage was not sparked mindlessly. According to President Timothy Trainor, there was a need for more housing on campus. “This year we experienced the good news of approximately 200 more undergraduate students enrolled compared to last year. Based on our current enrollment projections for the fall 2021 semester, we will fall slightly short in meeting student needs for on-campus housing, that is why we are building a new cottage,” he said.
The cottages are a popular option because of their accommodations and amenities. On top of the features that are offered in a typical residence hall, the cottages offer ceiling fans in each bedroom, a private living room and eat-in kitchen, a front porch, free laundry access in each cottage and free onsite parking.
Carter Warm (C’23), a current resident in the cottages, stated, “I love having my own room. The kitchen is very nice and big, which is great. The only downside is that there is only one washer and dryer for the 10 of us. We all communicate about when we are doing laundry, but it isn’t that big of an issue. We all have adjusted to this change once we moved here.”
Associate Director of Residence Life Jamie Chong Brown explained what the floorplan of the new cottage will be like. “The first floor has four double rooms and six single rooms and the second floor has four double rooms and seven single rooms. Otherwise, it’ll follow the same format – living room and kitchen in the middle, three bathrooms per floor that are ADA accessible and laundry on each floor,” she described. With that being said, the first floor will host a total of 14 students and the second floor will host 15 students.
The four cottages that residents currently live in cost $4,000 per semester, amounting to $8,000 each academic year. Since the cost of room and board changes annually, all cottages including the new one being built will cost students $4,150 per semester for the 2021-2022 academic year.
In addition to the construction of the new cottage, there will also be renovations in Horning tower this summer. Assistant Director of Resident Life Brent Johnson added that the renovations will entail “new furniture, new appliances, updated lighting, new carpet and fresh paint jobs.” He also said that the renovations in Horning Tower should be ready for residents by August of this year. Residence Life is also working to strengthen relationships with Emmitsburg area landlords to help students find housing off-campus when desired.
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