Foundation Heights to create new housing option for upperclassmen
Twenty-eighth Street and Grange Avenue used to hold four Augustana theme houses. As the houses grew outdated and remained vacant in recent years, Augustana saw an opportunity to build new housing on campus: Foundation Heights.
Construction for new apartment-style student housing began on May 1 and is projected to be completed in time for student move-in before the fall 2026 semester. Whitney Jibben, director of housing, dining and facility services, said that Augustana has been working with Lloyd Companies to develop and fund this project. The overall cost of the building is estimated to be $12 million.
Jibben said that the housing will support students’ need for more independence as they reach their junior and senior years. Foundation Heights will be open to third-year and fourth-year students, but if the building has vacancies, beds may be offered to sophomores as well.
“Every year, we have a pretty lengthy waiting list for our apartment buildings on campus,” Jibben said. “They're just one of our most popular options to stay on campus.”
The first floor of the building will include ADA-compliant, accessible units and office spaces. Jon Martin, campus facilities manager, said that he is currently unsure what exactly the office space will be used for. Nonetheless, he said the office spaces will be an important component of the building.
The upper floors will consist of apartments with studio, two-bedroom and four-bedroom layouts. Martin said there are 13 single units and 15 each of the 2-bedroom and the 4-bedroom units. The apartments will hold a total of 103 students at maximum capacity.
The single-story apartments already on campus — Balcer, Nelsen, and Svendsbye — are currently listed at $7,344 for a single room for the year. Jibben said that the projection for the cost for the new apartments is similar. Their amenities will include individual bedrooms, shared bathrooms, a kitchen, a shared living space and certain furniture pieces.
At the groundbreaking ceremony on April 28, President Stephanie Herseth Sandlin announced that the building was named in memory of Craig Lloyd, co-founder of Lloyd Companies and an Augustana alumnus. He died January 29, 2025.
Martin said that the project was designed over several before being first publicized in 2023, and he added that the steady increase of enrollment numbers was a large reason for the new apartment building.
“With our increasing enrollment, we’ve needed more space,” Martin said. “I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for Augie to have some very competitive units out there to try to get students.”
Sophomore Gabby Erickson will be moving into a theme house with her friends this fall, but she said that if apartment housing like this had been available, she might have considered living there instead.
“I’m so excited to have my house, but I think an apartment would have been just the next best thing,” Erickson said.
Another student, freshman Macee Bortnem, hopes to become a VA for her junior and senior years but also said that she’d “definitely be interested” in apartment living.
Augustana has seen more than one exciting campus development lately, including the recently completed renovations on the Morrison Commons and the recently announced renovation plans for the Elmen Center, but Foundation Heights on 28th and Grange will be its newest building addition.
“I think it’ll just be a really great new addition to the campus housing,” Jibben said. “It's exciting to have a bit more variety of independent living options.”
