The number of students traveling along State Street could increase if a rental company constructs an apartment complex in the middle of the already frenzied scene. The construction of an eyesore such as the proposed apartment complex will undoubtedly cause unnecessary additional chaos.

AHMC Asset Management hopes to build a 150-unit apartment complex that will house153 residents adjacent to the Hibbard Hall parking lot, according to an article in The Spectator.

The proposal is garnering heat from the Third Ward Neighborhood Association, who rightly feel that the new building is uncalled for in this area and would be better suited somewhere else.

AHMC is greatly misinformed in its assumptions of students at UW-Eau Claire. The company will charge $400 to $500 per student who lives in the complex, which is vastly unaffordable for many.

Also, AHMC says the complex will provide 67 paid underground parking stalls for its residents, claiming the underground parking will alleviate parking problems on neighboring streets. However, there will be 86 people with no place to park their vehicle, and to say that students wouldn’t have vehicles because of their proximity to campus is absurd. Students move off-campus for the freedom that living on their own brings. With that freedom comes the freedom of having a vehicle to travel with. The developers are na’ve to believe that there will not be excess cars. All it takes is a few additional vehicles to make traveling along State Street a nightmare at best.

Developers are also misinformed in their belief there’s a need for student housing. The number of students housed in hotels has dropped over the years to where currently there are no students living in hotels. This shows there is already enough on- and off-campus housing to accommodate students.

Students need to speak out against this developer and inform them that there’s no need for a student housing complex in this peaceful neighborhood.