UL received approval from the University of Louisiana System on Friday to move ahead with plans to expand Legacy Park in response to a student housing shortage on campus.

The new apartment buildings will add 170 beds and may affect Vet Village, an older apartment complex located behind the existing Legacy Park complex.

The existing family housing units are 45 years old and will be torn down for the project, said UL President Ray Authement.

Tearing down the older facility would mean displacing about 40 families. The university has said it would help residents find new homes.

"I think new construction is good. These buildings are old. Rent here is cheaper than if you rent an apartment somewhere else, especially if you have a family," said Yun Zhang, a doctoral student from China studying computer science. Zhang lives at Vet Village with his wife and daughter.

Authement said the university is still studying the need to transfer students to other locations.

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Marsha Sills
msills@theadvertiser.com