Regency takes in first wave of students

                  Media Credit: Jason Bye

CCD student Chris Williams discusss his new home,

    happy that he is now much closer to the

        Auraria Campus than he was before.

On the last day of August, delivery trucks and contractors filled the lobby of the new Regency Student Housing complex, putting the final touches on Auraria's first student housing community. The carpet was yet to be installed in the common area in front of the elevators new residents of what was once the infamous Regency Hotel would take to their new homes.

"We expect some students will be moving in tonight," said Lola Salazar, one of the owners of the new complex. Salazar said a few students had made arrangements to move into the Regency on Aug. 29, only to be told that their accommodations were not ready and that they would have to stay in area hotels. Carmen Lerma Mendoza, spokesperson for the Regency, said reduced rates were secured for the students who did pay to stay in a hotel while they waited for their new apartments. For students moving into the complex from somewhere near the Denver-area, the inconvenience was just that - a mere inconvenience; for those who came from out of state, the inconvenience could have been much larger.

Salazar said the students who waited were not upset, and knowing what they were waiting for, they were patient for a couple of extra days.

The Regency welcomed many of its tenants Aug. 31, who moved their items into the furnished rooms. The Regency had 306 beds on opening day as part of phase one of the project. Phase two will open the north building of the Regency, adding more than 400 additional beds and a swimming pool.

Televisions, clothes, even a large glass table, could be seen coming into the Regency Sept. 1 through the freshly carpeted lobby.

"It looks good, but it's a little chaotic right now," said Chris Williams, a 19-year-old Community College of Denver student moving into unit 807-A, which looks west to the mountains and offers a partial view of the downtown skyline. Williams said he knows the community advisor - the person whose job it is to maintain order on each floor - will have to be at least somewhat strict, to prevent things like fire hazards and unsafe behavior.

"I wanted to live near school and in downtown," said 18-year-old Michele Parenti, a Metro State freshman, as she signed her lease. "It's hard for me to meet people on campus, so maybe I can meet some people here."

Parenti said she's looking forward to taking advantage of all the amenities offered to Regency residents, including the workout facility, two large basketball and volleyball courts, and a giant projection screen that will play movies, TV shows and sporting events. She added that she hopes tenants will act responsibly in the new community. "We are adults; hopefully we act like adults," Parenti said.

Parenti and Williams are moving into a non-smoking building that blends the conveniences of a college dorm with the real-world niceties of an apartment building. If tenants are 21 and over, they are allowed to drink alcohol in their new home. If tenants choose to have a visitor spend the night - even visitors of the opposite sex - they simply have to check them in at the front desk, according to Mendoza.

Tenants will have access to two full-size basketball and volleyball courts in a gymnasium that has hosted several nefarious nightclubs and countless ballroom events in the former Regency Hotel. Tenants will also have a cafeteria with several food options, paid for per semester as part of the lease arrangements. Using the same keycard that opens the door to their rooms, students can buy food and retrieve their mail.

"We wanted to form a dorm-style community," Mendoza said. Although the neighborhood where the Regency is located - 39th and Elati - used to be one of the more active areas for Denver Police, Mendoza said students are safe in the area and that most of the problems were associated with the hotel that used to house Elvis Presley when he came to Denver.

"This place is awesome - it couldn't be cooler; this place is cool as shit," said 19-year-old UCDHSC sophomore Scott Aller, who moved into the Regency from a house in Northglenn. "The commute sucked," Aller said, of living in Northglenn. Aller said the price - about $500 - is fair compared to apartments that close to campus in the downtown area. He's also pleased with the overall living situation. "This place is sweet no matter what age you are," Aller said.

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