Botir Okhunjanov had lived in several other college towns – most recently in Washington State – before moving to central Ohio to teach economics at Denison University.
The university is perched atop a hill in the idyllic village of Granville.
Okhunjanov and his family wanted to live in Granville to get to know the area better and to stay close to campus.
Okhunjanov, however, was finishing up his PhD out-of-state as he looked for places to live and was limited in his options because of his income. He said the cost of housing in Granville is high compared to other towns where he has lived.
“So, I was applying everywhere. And obviously they were rejecting my application,” he said.
Okhunjanov eventually reached out to Denison, and he was able to get one of the roughly 30 houses that the university rents to faculty.
“I really appreciate their help,” he said of the university.
Not everyone wants to live in a full house, though, and there’s usually a waiting list for the limited stock, David English, University Vice President for Finance and Management, said.
That’s why Denison wants to build a housing development for faculty and staff who can’t find or are priced out of housing in the village.
Staying close to home
English said the university values faculty mentorship, which is easiest when professors are close to campus.
“We also know that increasingly, faculty members and other employees are living further and further away from Denison,” English said.
In years past, about half of recently hired faculty lived in the Granville zip code – now, about 7% of new hires live in the immediate area, according to English.
When faculty were surveyed in 2019, many said they wanted to live closer to campus.
“And logically, it's just more difficult for people who live further away to make it back on campus to have those interactions with students or other employees that are really critical to what we do,” English said.
Housing in Granville, however, is generally expensive and hard to come by.
Based on listings on three real estate websites, the average price of a home in Granville currently is about $650,000. The most expensive house is listed at $2.2 million, and the cheapest is around $300,000.
Columbus Realtors 2022 report shows that home prices in the Granville Exempted Villages Schools district jumped 28.4% in one year – one of the biggest increases in central Ohio.
An internet search showed just two houses for rent.
New housing community
Denison plans to build one- and two-story apartments on about 12 acres of a 31-acre university-owned parcel on New Burg Street, across from the Granville High School baseball fields. Phase one will involve building about 30 one- and two-bedroom units.
“They're clustered around a central green. They're tucked into a beautiful site surrounded by woods,” said Keith Myers, a planner working with Denison to design the development. He said it would be connected back to campus by a half-mile walking trail.
There would be room to expand to up to 70 units.
Denison just started the process of annexing the property, which is in Granville Township, into the village. English said Granville Village Council is understanding of the situation. So far, there has been little opposition to the idea, besides some concerns about traffic congestion. Denison is having a traffic study done.
“This project is merely a reflection of what's coming and or what's here.”Keith Myers
The bigger picture
If all goes to plan, the first houses could be finished in about 18 months.
Housing would be available to all employees, but English expects it will be most used by faculty moving to the region who may not be ready to buy a home.
“With the development that's coming out this way – with Intel and the other businesses that are following – we really expect that housing will only become more expensive around here,” English said.
Myers said there’s a broader housing issue in central Ohio that is going to create problems for other institutions and businesses.
“This project is merely a reflection of what's coming and or what's here,” Myers said.
He called it a “creative solution.”
“But I expect that there will need to be more, you know, by other institutions and other communities. And housing is going to be a topic of conversation in central Ohio for quite some time,” Myers said.
Nearby Kenyon College in Gambier is already facing similar problems as economic growth tightens the housing market in Knox County.
Like Denison, Kenyon has some housing available to its employees. While the college doesn't have immediate plans to build more, a spokesperson said the Knox County Regional Planning Commission has made increasing housing a priority, and Kenyon is a "ready partner," as they look for ways to do that.
