SVSU approves up to $32 million to buy part of Campus Village Apartments, renamed Cardinal Corners, to house 357 more students

KOCHVILLE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Saginaw Valley State University is buying the eastern half of the Campus Village Apartments next to campus, after its Board of Control authorized spending up to $32 million on the complex and a neighboring parcel at its Monday, Oct. 26, meeting.

The apartments, to be called Cardinal Corners, have room for 357 residents in single-bedroom, townhouse-style units at the southwest corner of Pierce and Davis roads, according to the university. The western half of the complex is not part of the deal and will stay privately owned. The sale was scheduled to close Friday, Oct. 30.

“Safety is an increasingly important consideration for our students and has contributed to a significant rise in student interest to live on campus,” SVSU President George Grant Jr. said in the university’s announcement. He said the purchase brings the complex under the jurisdiction of University Police and allows other safety measures “consistent with what current residential students experience.”

How it is being paid for

The board also authorized SVSU to issue up to $32.3 million in bonds to finance the purchases. Spread across 357 beds, the $32 million ceiling works out to about $89,600 per resident space, by The Mitten Daily’s math, though the university did not break out the apartment price from the other parcel.

That second purchase is 7780 Bay Road, a property surrounded by campus, for up to $300,000 from the Gail A. Beattie Trust. Once it closes, everything on the east side of Bay Road (M-84) between Pierce and Freeland roads will belong to SVSU.

What it means for students and tenants

SVSU says demand to live on campus has outrun what it can offer in recent years. It is also building 120 more beds in its Pine Grove apartments, due by August 2027. With those and Cardinal Corners, the university expects to house about 3,000 students on campus starting in the fall 2027 semester.

For people already renting in the purchased buildings, SVSU spokesman J.J. Boehm told WNEM that existing leases will be honored and that the transition will take about two years.

In other business, the board accepted the 2025-26 audit, approved a five-year capital outlay plan, and gave an honorary degree to Gleaves Whitney, executive director of the Gerald R. Ford Foundation in Grand Rapids, who will speak at commencement on Saturday, Dec. 19.

Sources:
Saginaw Valley State University, “SVSU Board of Control authorizes apartment complex acquisition” (Oct. 26–27, 2026; price, units, location, Grant quote, bonds, Bay Road parcel, Pine Grove, other board action), https://www.svsu.edu/newsroom/news/2026/october/apartmentcomplexacquisition/
WNEM TV-5, “SVSU makes $32 million move to expand student housing near campus” (Oct. 29, 2026; leases and transition), https://www.wnem.com/2026/10/29/svsu-makes-32-million-move-expand-student-housing-near-campus/
Per-bed figure is a Mitten Daily calculation ($32 million ÷ 357).
Photo: Saginaw Future Inc., “Saginaw Valley State University’s Living Center (4331105928),” Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saginaw_Valley_State_University%27s_Living_Center_(4331105928).jpg

Saginaw

Tags: Saginaw Valley State University · SVSU · Student housing · Kochville Township · Board of Control · Higher education