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Longwood University informed students Thursday, Feb. 13, that Longwood Village, located at 105 Lancer Circle behind Sheetz, would not be available for student housing for the 2020-21 academic year.

Students living at Longwood Village will leave, as normal, at the end of the semester.

There are about 280 available student beds in the complex.

“We have been considering this for some time as student demand had shifted to options closer to campus repurposing Longwood Village when the time was right,” Matt McWilliams, assistant vice president of communications for Longwood University said.

“Several recent developments have accelerated that timetable, and when we realized it could affect Longwood Village as soon as the next academic year. We decided it was most prudent to take the apartments offline now, as changes later would affect more people and be more disruptive.”

The Gazette reached out to McWilliams to inquire what the exact recent developments were and the precise plans for the complex.

“We plan to repurpose the complex. I don’t have any more information for you than that,” he said.

McWilliams did say the university was working with about 60 students who had just recently registered to live at the Longwood Villages during the 2020-21 academic year.

According to McWilliams, students who are already registered to live at the Village won’t be charged more to reside in a comparable four-bedroom apartment at the Landings or Lancer Park North/South.

Longwood officials are ensuring students will have plenty of housing options as the newly renovated Frazier Residential Hall is now open, and renovation on the Curry Residential Hall will soon be complete and open next academic year.