New name - new place

By Noah Cooperstein

The Broad Street Commons embodies a whole new meaning of living “the suite life” in

Plattsburgh.

The Broad Street Commons, previously known as the College Suites, is located at 59

Broad Street. The College Suites was recently in the news for tax issues with the building. These

issues have been acted upon and the facility shortly after went under new ownership.

The Broad Street Commons went under new ownership in early January of 2016 when

Campus Advantage had purchased the facility. Campus Advantage is a student housing

management company with an abundance of buildings and a total of about 60,000 beds located

throughout the country.

The building in which the Broad Street Commons is located at was built in 2008 and

since then has offered the options of four bedrooms/two bathrooms or two bedrooms/one

bathroom styled apartments.

The apartments are completely furnished in both the living room and the bedrooms. They

also include various full-sized appliances.

Mary Thwaits, the General Manager at the Broad Street Commons, believes that amongst

the various different aspects that the building provides, the most important is the range of

amenities the building offers it’s residents.

The amenities include a 24-hour fitness center, on-site cafe called Smooth Moves, free

cable and high speed Internet, 24-hour controlled access, as well as various other benefits.

One of the newer amenities is the Student's First experience. Campus Advantage created

the program with three core areas in mind: living, learning and career. The experience includes

various events, community service and workshops.

One of the most recent events that were held was a Career Week, which took from place

February 23 till the 25th. During these three days residents took part in getting professional

headshots taken, creating business cards and participating in a webinar.

Thomas Clarke, a resident at the Broad Street Commons, considers living there to be one

of the best decisions he has made while attending SUNY Plattsburgh.

“There is so many different aspects about the Broad Street Commons that have made my

living experience great,” said Clarke. “My favorite part about living here is the 24-hour fitness

center. As an avid gym goer it is perfect to have in the building, especially if I need to get a

quick workout in.”

Besides the vast amenities that are offered at the Broad Street Commons, their location is

also a big draw-in for potential residents.

The building is only a five to ten minute walk to the campus, which is very convenient

for the residents of the building who attend SUNY Plattsburgh.

Besides having a convenient location to the SUNY campus the Commons also has

arrangements with Clinton Country Public Transportation to take our residents to Clinton

Community College as well as various other destinations in Clinton County, free of charge.

As well as providing a place of residence for college students, the Broad Street Commons

also employs students to work in the building’s office. Both Kelsie Boudreau and Jordan

Seymour, Public Relation Majors at SUNY Plattsburgh, hold Community Assistant positions in

the facility.

Boudreau and Seymour each have been working at the facility for two years and have

learned a lot from their experience.

“Being a Public Relation major, I have been able to use a lot of what I have learned in

class in real situations. It really has been a great experience and honor.” Boudreau said with

ambition in her eyes.

Boudreau and Seymour both are able to dabble in the marketing, promotional and leasing

aspects of the job.

“This job has definitely helped with narrowing my career path after college. I learned

many useful skills that will help with my future career.

The Broad Street Commons has been able to open many doors to both residents and

community members with a secure promise of many more years to come.