Coming This Fall: The Grande

Looking for a convenient living space near Southeastern Louisiana University can be frustrating for students. Finding one students will enjoy living in is more tricky.

As of this fall, The Grande will be the first off-campus student housing facility located at 2400 N Morrison Blvd, Hammond. It is within walking distance to SLU. Also, The Grande offers numerous amenities to its tenants.

Brennen Higginbotham, Hammond resident, commented, “I think it will set a new scale to what student living should be like at Southeastern.”

SLU does its best to provide the most to its students; however, residents on-campus have had some complaints.

Sam Bruce, SLU student, asserted, “I wasn’t a fan of the 24-hour quiet hours and the limited amount of things you were allowed to do in the dorms.”

The Grande offers an array of activities for students to choose.

A few of the amenities are going to be a 24-hour fitness center, pool with hot tub, business center, clubhouse and coffee bar.

The opening of The Grande is meant to help with SLU’s growing student population.

An SLU commuter, Robert Rico, stated, “Southeastern is a growing college. Having more housing options will be better for the growing student base, especially for those that don’t live in the area.”

There are three different floor plans offered by the grande: 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom and 4-bedroom. Their monthly fees are $560, $610 and $700, respectively.

With each monthly payment, students will be covering rent, electricity, water, garbage, WiFi internet, cable and even pest control!

Each apartment’s setup has private bedrooms and bathrooms, a living room and a kitchen. All of the rooms are fully furnished.

The kitchens will have a refrigerator, built-in microwave, stove and dishwasher. The living rooms are even expected to come with a tv!

The Grande offers a new form of quality living for students; however, there are mixed opinions on the new housing complex.

Gaige Wilcox, another Hammond resident, expressed his concerns of the housing complex.

“It would be interesting to see how [The Grande] would affect the neighbors of the apartments. I don’t know how [the students] would not cause complaints. Hopefully, the students will be able to keep the place nice and [The Grande] can keep up with the maintenance,” Wilcox explained.

Rico added, “Other off-campus apartments will have to be more competitive with what they have to offer.”

Although there are some concerns with The Grande, Hammond residents cannot deny their interest.

Higginbotham claimed, “You’re getting much more value out of living in these apartments than you would in a dormitory.”

The Grande plans to be completely different than typical student housing complexes.

Wilcox remarked, “I’d live there in a heartbeat. I’d want to experience that form of living, even if I have to pay that small fee.”

Rico said, “If I can live there, I would because it isn’t terribly expensive. The amount of services they provide for the price you pay is a good value overall.”

With another semester coming to a close, a new one is sure to start.

Students can access more information and apply for housing on The Grande’s website: https://www.universitygrandeatselu.com/.