Gated subdivision for college students offers resort-style amenities

UCF housing is going suburban with the opening of the Retreat at Orlando -- a subdivison of two-story houses that are rented out by the room.

Orlando's first neighborhood of houses built for college students is about to open, and it comes complete with complimentary Starbucks coffee, tanning beds and swim-up movies at the beach-style pool.

Landmark Properties' Retreat at Orlando, a gated subdivision on East Colonial Drive, has hundreds of two-story Craftsman-style cottages intended just for students.

Although most of the new midrise apartments and towers built near the University of Central Florida in recent years have advertised their proximity to classes, the Retreat instead pushes backyard grilling, recreation and room for pets on its 40-acre site.

Behind the mom-'n'-pop-style homes, the Retreat has amenities that are anything but suburban: a PGA-level indoor golf-simulation room; a covered basketball pavilion; a salon offering manicures and pedicures; and shuttle buses to and from hot spots till 3 a.m. on weekends.

"I like living on campus, but I'm ready for the feeling of being in a home," said UCF junior Gabriella Armor, 19, who will be moving from an on-campus apartment to the Retreat next month. She said friends at Florida State University had sent her Instagram photos of the Retreat at Tallahassee, and she was ready for the idea to come to Orlando.

More than a month before fall classes start, the Retreat is fully leased, with individuals renting a single bedroom in a house that may have five or six bedrooms. For students who don't come to school with enough friends to fill up a cottage, Landmark matches like-minded housemates.

Students will start moving in next month to the houses, some of which house both genders. Lease rates range from $624 a month for one bedroom in a six-bedroom unfurnished house to $825 for one bedroom in a two-bedroom house with furnishings. Roommates share living areas and kitchens with granite counters and stainless-steel appliances.

The average per-bedroom rent last fall for all off-campus housing near UCF both privately managed and school-managed was $575 a month, according to a report from Smith Equities.

Although the Retreat is the first development of its kind in Orlando, it's not the only one to compete for students with resort-style amenities. Another big project being introduced near UCF this year, The Plaza apartments, offers putting greens, cabanas and beach volleyball next to the pool and media lounges for video-gamers.

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Gated subdivision for college students offers resort-style amenities