Longwood announces closure of Longwood Village apartment community

Last week, Longwood University sent out an email letting students know of the decision to close down the Longwood Village apartment community, effective for the 2020-2021 academic year. 

On the morning of Thursday, Feb. 13, students were notified via e-mail that Longwood would be closing down the village as soon as this school year is over. The notification came out the day after the decision was made. 

Vice President for Administration and Finance Louise Waller said, “The decision was made late in the evening on Wednesday and we let students know early Thursday because we wanted to have the maximum amount of time to help students who had already registered to live there find the best housing accommodation for next year.”

She noted that the students who were already registered to live there or currently live there and were planning on “squatting”, were able to relocate to the Longwood Landings or Lancer Park at no additional cost. 

The decision to close the Village was one that had been in talks for quite some time. Assistant Vice President for Marketing and Communications editor Matt McWilliams said that it was always a part of their goals. 

He said, “We have talked for quite a while about the future of the apartment complex in relation to our long-term goals, and had planned to eventually repurpose it.”

Waller added that although they had planned on closing the complex in the future, they were not aware that it would be happening so quickly. 

She said, “We didn’t anticipate that timetable accelerating so quickly, but made sure to tell students as soon as we could once the decision was made.”

Waller and McWilliam reiterated that although Longwood is closing the Village, the university will not be short on housing for students, as the Village houses about 280 beds out of the nearly 3,000 that Longwood manages altogether.

As well as, having Curry and Frazer both back for next year and student demand shifting to being walking-accessible, there will be enough space for all students. 

McWilliams added, “Consolidating university-managed housing closer to campus actually frees up more resources to better serve students.”

For students who want more information or have specific questions, contact housing@longwood.edu.