The Daily Targum has written a great article about Rockoff Hall. Rockoff Hall has become a great off-campus housing alternative. The residency will be under Rutgers jurisdiction until May 2014. You can learn more in the article below.For the first time, students will not have to stress over lottery numbers to snag a bed in Rockoff Hall.
The New Brunswick Development Corporation sold the George Street apartment building to McKinney Properties in January 2013, making the 674-bed apartment complex another off-campus housing alternative, said E.J. Miranda, director of University Media Relations.
Miranda said the property will remain under Rutgers jurisdiction until May 2014, at which point it will transition to a private residence.
David Strassberg, leasing manager for Rockoff Hall, said like any other commercial property, students could take tours of the building, fill out an application and sign a lease.
He said one advantage to living in Rockoff is the by-the-bed leasing model.
“If you were to go to any other apartment building in the area, and say you and your roommate were to sign a lease, you would both be held equally responsible for the lease term,” Strassberg said.
For most apartments, if one roommate cannot afford to pay the month’s rent or has to break the lease, their actions would be a breach of contract and would reflect badly on all of the roommates’ credit, Strassberg said.
“It’s shocking how many students end up having their credit ruined because they were held responsible when a roommate didn’t pay his or her share of the lease and the utilities,” Strassberg said in a news release.
At Rockoff, he said, it is no longer a problem.
“Here, it’s by-[the]-bed, meaning if you were to sign a lease, you’re only responsible for your part of that lease agreement,” Strassberg said.
Rodd Werstil, managing director of real estate investments for McKinney Properties, said this is the first time this nationally recognized student housing leasing model is coming to Rutgers.
He said aside from being out of the lottery system, Rockoff Hall is offering students a roommate matching system.
If students want to rent a house in New Brunswick, he said they need to know the six or seven others they are living with before they go to the landlord.
“With Rockoff, you can come there, say, ‘Hey it’s only the two of us, we don’t know another group of people, we don’t have another group that wants to live with us, but we would like two bedrooms in a four-bedroom unit,’” Werstil said.
Werstil said staff will assist in matching individuals or roommate pairs with two or three other students to live with based on a compatibility survey.
He said Rockoff will remain primarily student housing.
“I think it will … by its very nature, because of where it’s located and who it attracts, and because of the existing relationship with Rutgers, I think it’s likely to end up just being Rutgers students,” Werstil said.
The price is still being worked out, but Werstil predicts the apartments will be less expensive than they were when Rutgers owned them.
He said dishwashers will be added to all of the units, which can alleviate roommate stress.
“We’re highly amenitized,” Werstil said. “Business center, common areas, lounges, we’re upgrading some of those amenities, and I think that, coupled with the roommate matching system and the lease situation, will attract students.”
Strassberg is setting up a student question-and-answer session with the Rutgers University Student Assembly to publicize Rockoff’s new ownership.
“The property itself is beautiful — all amenities are included, we don’t charge for electric, water, gas, heat. … So they’re just paying for rent and a lot is included for them,” Strassberg said.
They are in the process of expanding the gym and adding a pool table for residents, he said. Some lounges already have flat screen televisions.
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