Q: Why is Fairmount Towers being taken out of commission?
A: Fairmount Towers is a 53-year-old facility that has reached the end of its useful
life. A 2015 report from consulting firm Brailsford & Dunlavey concluded that Fairmount
Towers should be phased out due to operational inefficiencies, limited student demand,
facility condition concerns and its isolated location outside the campus core. The
decommissioning of the facility is part of the university’s five-year capital budget
plan.
Q: Where will Fairmount Towers students live?
A: Students who planned to live in Fairmount Towers will live in the brand new on-campus
apartment complex, The Flats at WSU.
Q: Why wasn't this announced sooner?
A: In late June, when it became clear that The Flats at WSU would have space available
for the 2017-18 academic year, the decision was made to capitalize on the opportunity
to remove the 53-year-old Fairmount Towers from service. WSU is leasing space in The
Flats, a move necessary to allow scholarship money to be applied to housing at the
facility. The decision was announced as soon as the details were finalized.
Q: Will Fairmount Towers students pay more to live in The Flats?
A: No. For the upcoming 2017-18 academic year, students assigned to live at The Flats
will pay the same Fairmount Towers double occupancy rate.
Q: Will Fairmount residents now have to pay for parking?
A: No. Fairmount residents will have free parking, just as they did at Fairmount Towers.
All Fairmount residents will go through the parking system at wichita.edu/parking to sign up for a green ePermit at no cost, which will allow them to park in any green
or yellow-and-green-striped lot on campus. Residents may purchase a reserved space
in the Flats parking lot for an additional cost.
Q: What will happen to the Fairmount Towers facility?
A: The building will close on August 18 and will eventually be demolished. The land
will be repurposed for future university development.