WEST LAFAYETTE — Brandon Wolter's living situation is unlike that of most Purdue University freshmen who choose to live in residential housing.
Rather than sleeping in a cramped dorm room, Wolter shares a spacious two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with three other freshmen.
The residence comes with amenities one would expect in a luxury apartment, such as a balcony, a full kitchen with a dishwasher, a washer and dryer, and free parking. There's also a pool and fitness center across the street.
The catch? He lives about two miles outside campus and is a 10-minute bus ride away from the thousands of other freshmen living in the dorms.
"The worst part is planning ahead," Wolter said while waiting at a bus stop Wednesday morning to venture to campus for the day.
Wolter is one of 240 male students who were placed in Blackbird Farms apartments this fall. They're housed in a new subdivision at the corner of McCormick Road and Lindberg Road, across the street from the existing Blackbird Farms complexes.
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This is the first year Purdue has contracted with Blackbird, owned by Lafayette-based W.H. Long Companies, to house students, said Mike Shettle, administration director for Purdue University Residences. It also marks the second year the university has had to partner with a private company to meet the increasing demand of campus housing.