FIU Responds to Housing Crunch With New Dorm Building

It's not your mom and dad’s FIU anymore. 

As Florida International University marks its 50th anniversary, it’s taking major strides to transform itself into a destination campus, one in which students live, study and play. The university is investing in new on-campus housing just as rents for off-campus apartments have gone way up. 

This was move-in week at FIU, and the brand-new Tamiami Hall is ready for its first residents. Among them was Lukas Grueneke from Germany, ready to experience a major culture shift. 

“Like I was really excited just to get a feel for what the American campus feel is like, so I really wanted to live on campus and obviously, Tamiami Hall is so new, so I was like, yeah, I really want to get in here,” Grueneke said. 

Chloe Posthuma and Mitha Matilus are South Floridians, eager to experience campus life in a shiny new dorm.

“I would prefer to live on campus, ’cause it’s a good way to make new friends and to get to know the campus better,” Mitha said. 

“I have thought about living off campus but honestly, the proximity to libraries and different convenience centers, even the stadium, it makes it very convenient,” Chloe added. 

Tamiami Hall, with room for 693 residents, is part of FIU’s effort to give students an affordable place to live and create a campus community, for $4,300 per semester. 

“It means that FIU is beginning to transition to a more residential campus, we have more students living on campus who are going to need more services and it’s just gonna increase the vibrancy of campus,” said Andrew Naylor, the housing director at FIU.

Right now, there’s a 500-student waiting list for on-campus housing, so that gives you an idea of how big the demand is. Naylor said it’s an early bird gets the worm situation.

“Apply for housing early to make sure they’re guaranteed a spot,” he said. 

The savvy ones already know that. Freshman Andrew Gavula moved in with help from his parents. 

“Especially coming from Tampa, it’s nice that we don’t have to worry about looking for an apartment and doing a whole year lease, from that perspective, because he won’t be staying here for the summer,” said Diane Gavula, Andrew’s mom. 

4,400 students currently live on the main FIU campus. In the next few years, that number will grow dramatically as the university builds more housing and as private, student-focused apartment buildings open up directly across the street, thousands more students will be living campus-adjacent. 

Living on campus is all about location, location, location and free utilities, too.