The Board of Trustees unanimously approved a $1.2 million bid to lease 252 beds in The Lofts at City Center during a special meeting earlier this month.

These beds will be used to house students who were previously set to live in Bryce Lawn Apartments and the Highlands, two on-campus apartment complexes. Now unoccupied, these spaces will be used to house students who test positive for COVID during the semester.

The bid, proposed by UA vice president of finance and operations, is renewable for up to four years if needed. 

At least 450 beds on campus will be available to house on-campus students who test positive, according to the bids. Off-campus students will be allowed to quarantine in their residences, and on-campus students who live within a two-hour radius will be “encouraged to return home, if at all possible” as outlined in the Return Plan. 

The day before students and faculty returned to classes, UA President Stuart Bell said six students were using these on-campus spaces to quarantine

Bryce Lawn and the Highlands, he said, were deemed the most appropriate location to isolate students because of proximity to campus services which allows for ease of food delivery and medical services. 

The Return Plan states that students who receive a positive test result and require isolation “will be provided with a secure location, private space, cleaning supplies, food deliveries, health care and counseling access, and accommodations for class and academics.”

On-campus students must test positive, be symptomatic or have come in close contact with someone who tested positive to use these designated spaces to quarantine.