Nearly 7,000 Eastern students live off campus, and many are now looking for places to live for the 2008 fall semester.

Melrose on Fourth is one new apartment complex that has created a interest among off-campus residents.

The complex, which started construction earlier this year, will be completed before the start of the fall semester.

Melissa Phillips, property manager for the complex, said she recently stopped advertising to students because the property is almost out of apartments to rent.

Of the original 32 apartments in the complex, 30 of the apartments have been rented, she said.

Students want to live in Melrose on Fourth because the apartments are brand-new, Phillips said.

“People love to be the first to live in an apartment,” she said.

The two-bedroom, two-bath apartments also have washers and dryers in each apartment, Phillips said. An exercise room and a hot tub room will be included inside the complex as well.

Other apartment complexes off campus have made some major changes to draw in student renters.

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The Campus Pointe apartment complex, which was recently purchased by Regency Residential Associates, has expanded its indoor and outdoor entertainment areas.

Shaina Neidigh, property manager for Campus Pointe, said the new renovations make the complex especially appealing to student renters who are searching for new places to live around Charleston.

The new owners of the complex have created volleyball and basketball courts as well as an expanded clubhouse inside the complex.

Neidigh said students living in Campus Pointe usually come from the residence halls, but there are some who transfer in and start living off campus, and others who come from other off-campus apartments.

Mark Hudson, director of Housing and Dining Services, said students sometimes decide to move off campus after living on campus for a few years.

Students who enroll as freshman are required to spend their first year living in a residence hall because students who live on campus are usually more academically successful, he said.

Students who live in the residence halls perform better academically because they are closer to classrooms and other school resources like Mary J. Booth Library and computer labs, Hudson said.

Students who live in residence halls for a year usually find they enjoy the camaraderie and atmosphere that goes along with living side-by-side with other students, he added.

The Housing and Dining Office tries to inform students about the cost and quality of off-campus living by providing a comparison on its Web site between off-campus and on-campus living costs.

“We try to educate students about the expenses that are relate to that choice,” Hudson said.

Jordan Crook can be reached at 581-7495 or at jscrook@eiu.edu.