Austin Open House Event Aims To Ease Student Housing Search

AUSTIN, TX — A neighborhood open house event is scheduled on Thursday with an aim of helping students learn about community living close to campus while making informed decisions.

Austin-based American Campus Communities (ACC), the nation's largest developer, owner and manager of high-quality student housing apartment communities, is organizing the event scheduled Thursday, Sept. 12, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event will be staged at The Castilian | West Campus, 2323 San Antonio St. (at the corner of 24th Street).

"Just as students are settling in for the school year, it’s already time to secure housing for next year," organizers wrote in an email. "To make sure students know about community living close to campus and make informed decisions, American Campus Communities throwing a 'Neighborhood Hangout Party & Open House' to show students quality housing options at a great value that are conducive to academic excellence and personal success."

The search for student housing can be a daunting task, as illustrated in a UT-Austin student's opinion piece in the student-run newspaper The Daily Texan. "ACC is here to help by showing students their various closeby West Campus options now so the sooner students book their housing for the next academic year, they can get back to making the grades this year," officials wrote ahead of the event. "Study after study reveals the closer students live to campus, the better their grades."

ACC officials also noted their exclusive partnership with Uber has yielded the availability of JUMP electric bikes and access to a charging hub right at The Castilian to help students get to class even faster. JUMP will be on hand at the event passing out free helmets to riders while supplies last to ensure students Always Cruise Carefully, officials said.

In addition to JUMP, neighborhood businesses such as Tiff’s Treats, Chik-fil-A, In-N-Out, and Hooked and Hooked will be giving away free goodies. And door prizes from the Co-OP and others will be raffled off every hour, including a pair of tickets to the Red River Rivalry.