Village People
Brite Divinity students move into newest campus apartment complex

By Maliha Suleman
Staff Reporter

Vivian Crowson loves her new two-bedroom apartment in The Leibrock Village. The smell of fresh paint and clean carpets fills the corridors of Leibrock.

Crowson, a Brite Divinity School student, lived in the Bellaire North Apartments before she moved to Leibrock.
“It’s like a mansion compared to Bellaire because it isn’t as dark and cramped,” said Crowson, who’s smiling despite the unpacking yet to be done.

Brite students began moving into Leibrock Village, the 56-unit complex on the corner of McCart and Sandage avenues, during the first week of January.

Barbara Shriver, director of Brite housing, said Leibrock is more than just a residential establishment, it’s a place to call home.

“Why we’ve noted it as a village is because we want to give it that sense of community and not just apartments,” Shriver said.

Residents will have access to a community room for small gatherings and studying, Shriver said.

Karyn Bogert, a Brite Divinity School student and Leibrock resident, said Leibrock is a great place where all Brite students can live together as one community.

File photo After almost two years of construction, the Leibrock Village opened to Brite Divinity School residents earlier this month. Here, the buildings stand partially completed. The new apartment complex is located on the corner of McCart and Sandage avenues and has 56 units — 30 one-bedroom units and 26 two-bedroom units.

Bogert said another good part of living in Leibrock is the provision of cable television, Ethernet connections and CAMPUSLINK phone services.

The complex has 30 one-bedroom apartments, each leasing for $500 a month and 26 two-bedroom apartments for $640 a month. Each resident also gets a parking space.

“There are two parking spaces that go with the two-bedroom and one space for the one-bedroom,” said Shriver. “There are extra parking spaces that can be rented by Brite students living in Leibrock.”

Leibrock Village’s security features also appeal to residents. Each building is equipped with swipe-card entry, and there are two resident assistants who can always be reached in case of problems.

Crowson said she heard some residents mention a lack of storage space, but she said she finds her apartment has ample room.

She said Leibrock emits a sense of community and interaction which is much better than it was in the Bellaire apartments, Crowson said.

“We can meet downstairs in the lobby, and it’s a good chance to meet other residents,” Crowson said. “In a typical, real village you feel like neighbors living next to each other, but in Bellaire, the apartments made it feel compartmentalized.

“As I’m closer to TCU now, I definitely feel more a part of the university,” Crowson said.

Shriver said a requirement Leibrock residents must meet is a minimum amount of hours to live in the complex.

“Leibrock has one stipulation,” said Shriver. “During fall and spring semesters, the residents must be full-time Brite students taking at least nine hours,” Shriver said.Leibrock Village was funded by Robert Leibrock of Midland and various other private donors and foundations. Brite used a part of the $70 million endowment for the project.

Most Brite students lived in the Princeton House, Bellaire North Apartments and the Quads before Leibrock opened.

The remaining construction east of McCart Avenue and west of Sandage Avenue is for housing complexes for other graduate students.

Maliha Suleman
malihas@hotmail.com