CUH to Say Goodbye to Date Street Residence Hall in May

After more than 10 years of housing Chaminade University undergraduates, the Date Street residence hall will come to a close this May.

Its non-graduating residents will now be forced to either move into on-campus housing, settle for the other off-campus residential hall on Waialae Avenue, or find their own place.

“It is easier for [the university] not to re-lease the building,” Residential Life Director Venus Ituralde said. “It seemed that it was better for us to just absorb all the other students from there.”

Ituralde said that because there are many vacancies in Chaminade’s residence halls, the university will not be acquiring a new residence hall to accommodate the displaced students.

Students from Date Street will be able to get priority housing at the end of this semester for the Waialae, Pohaku, and (for females) Kieffer residential halls. 

“Depending on what the needs are and where admissions is recruiting, it determines how much housing we are going to need,” Ituralde said. “Right now, we are trying to make sure everything is fixed and repaired and all the places are livable and comfortable for the residents.”

Aulani Kaanoi, the vice president for Finance and Facilities, said that the university is hoping to save money by not continuing the lease for the Date Street residence hall. 

“When you have real cash being paid [for a residence hall] and you have an [overall] low occupancy [in the other residence halls], you lose money on it,” Kaanoi said.

The Date Street residence hall currently houses 30 residents, which includes two resident assistants. The full capacity of the residence hall is at 32. Including Date Street, the overall occupancy rate for all the residential halls is at 78 percent.  

 Kaanoi said that the decision to close down the hall will make Chaminade University more fiscally sustainable.

“It’s going to boost our income statement by not having that expense, because there’s just not enough demand for the rooms,” Kaanoi said.

Currently, Chaminade pays $14,839 a month for the Date Street residence hall. The lease for the hall will end this July.

For junior accounting major Mary Anton, the news of the closure is unwelcome.

“I did want to stay [at Date] next semester,” Anton said. 

Anton has been a resident of Date for more than two years now. For her, staying at the Date Street residence hall was convenient for her as it was near her work in Waikiki and Chaminade University. The price of a single room per semester in the Date Street residence hall is $4,390, including utilities, internet, and laundry services.

With only one year left for her undergraduate studies, Anton now has to find a new place to stay.

“I haven’t found [a place] yet; everything is $2,000 [per month] and above,” Anton said. “I’m kinda sad that it’s closing, but it is what it is.”

In December 2018, SmartAsset reported that the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment in Hawaii is $1,903. The financial advisory website also reported that the average monthly utility bill is $187.59.

“It’ll be stressful thinking about the bills to pay,” Anton said. “I wanted to get an internship, but now I have to think about having a place to stay before getting a job.”

Sophomore Conrad Timothy also shares Anton’s sentiments.

“It just kinda sucks,” Timothy said. “[Staying at Date Street] was always the plan for next year. Now that it’s closing, it limits my options as to where I want to stay.”

The communications major has been staying at the Date Street residence hall for almost a year now and will have to vacate his room in May. For Timothy, the hunt is now on for a living space close to Chaminade University and his work at the cafeteria.

“I’ve seen the price of an apartment for the first time, and it was daunting,” Timothy said.