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Universities using hotels as dorms

Joe.B

Joe.B

SAWHORSE
Staff member
Joined
Dec 4, 2020
Messages
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Location
Myrtletown Ca
Anybody have any experience with universities housing students in hotels? Being a hotel they would be a R-1 occupancy limited to 30 day stays. Would housing students for longer than 30 days in a room require a change of occupancy? If they do have to change the occupancy, would they have to install kitchenettes? If the facility has a dining facility could they use that instead? Then it could be called "dormitories"?
 
Yes, it would require a change of occupancy. If a sprinkler system does not currently exist, the IEBC would not require a sprinkler system since there is no change in the fire protection threshold requirements. A Group R-2 is considered slightly less hazardous than a Group R-1 since occupants would be more familiar with their surroundings in a dormitory rather than a hotel/motel.

A kitchenette is not required; a Group R-2 occupancy can consist of sleeping units and not dwelling units. Also, a dining hall would also not be required if students have access to a school dining facility elsewhere on campus.
 
Not to drift the thread but how about apartment buildings. What about a private university that purchases houses for faculty and apartment buildings for students. Would sprinklers be required for the apartment buildings?
 
ICE said:
Not to drift the thread but how about apartment buildings. I had experience with a private university that would purchase houses for faculty and apartment building for students. Would sprinklers be required for the apartment buildings?
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No, not by the IBC or IFC. A change of ownership does not trigger anything as long as the building is still being used as originally permitted.
 
RLGA said:
No, not by the IBC or IFC. A change of ownership does not trigger anything as long as the building is still being used as originally permitted.
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Twenty years ago a private university asked me about the sprinklers for several apartment complexes that the school purchased to house students. I pointed out that the campus dormitories were equipped with sprinklers. I asked if the parents that send their children to the university expect the same protection for the children no matter where they sleep. The university representative became visibly upset when I said that they "skate" under the requirement. Pissed even.
 
My only experience was when I dropped my son off at Arizona State and they placed him in the hotel for about two months. He seemed to enjoy it. Shared his hotel room with one other person.
 
rktect 1 said:
My only experience was when I dropped my son off at Arizona State and they placed him in the hotel for about two months. He seemed to enjoy it. Shared his hotel room with one other person.
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Out of curiosity, when was this? When I was working for an architecture firm as a PM, one of my projects was a couple of dorms for ASU. The contractor did not quite finish on time and students were temporarily housed in local hotels.
 
RLGA said:
The contractor did not quite finish on time and students were temporarily housed in local hotels.
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I went down that road and instead of hotels they brought in temporary, manufactured bunkhouses. There was a bunch of them. They were older and the electric panels had problems. I was told that being manufactured buildings, I wasn't allowed to inspect or write corrections. I offered to let the State do their thing and then thought, "Oh no! What if that guy is a dummy." I made it obvious that Edison will not supply power without me. In the end, they fixed everything.

That episode was an eye opener. Here was a Christian University arguing with a building inspector over a life/safety issue that involves sleeping quarters for students. It wasn't like we didn't have a history of working together either.
 
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RLGA said:
Out of curiosity, when was this? When I was working for an architecture firm as a PM, one of my projects was a couple of dorms for ASU. The contractor did not quite finish on time and students were temporarily housed in local hotels.
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Not this year but last year, so two falls ago.
 
ICE said:
Here was a Christian University arguing with a building inspector over a life/safety issue that involves sleeping quarters for students. It wasn't like we didn't have a history of working together either.
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I've found that some religious institutions are ... interesting ... to deal with.
Had one tell me they didn't have to follow accessibility regulations because "none of our students are *those* people."
 
Inspector Gadget said:
I've found that some religious institutions are ... interesting ... to deal with.
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I've had a few take the "separation of church and State" to an extreme.

I attended a church that had a school building. As I was passing by the school one day I noticed a crane that was setting five heat pumps on the roof. The units were large and there had not been equipment on the roof previously. There wasn't much thought put into supporting the units and the electric supply to the building was being upgraded. This work crossed a threshold that required a permit....so I stopped them with a written notice.

The next day the pastor came to my office. He was taken aback when he saw me. Somewhat angrily he said, "You didn't tell me that you are the city building inspector." Surprise, surprise....I never tell anyone.....and why would that matter?
 
Similar Conversation regarding R-1 and R-2

Allowing Transient R1 Use in an R2 Building

Hypothetically, if a municipality passed an ordinance for registration and inspection of vacation rental properties that were specifically designated transient, would you be able to allow this to happen in a building that was an R2? Would the ordinance itself be a violation since it is less...
www.thebuildingcodeforum.com
 
Thanks all for the replies. Seems like from a building code perspective it's not a big deal. The planning department is a little bit concerned about the change in occupancy possibly conflicting with the zoning, but they can figure that out.
 
ICE said:
I went down that road and instead of hotels they brought in temporary, manufactured bunkhouses. There was a bunch of them. They were older and the electric panels had problems. I was told that being manufactured buildings, I wasn't allowed to inspect or write corrections. I offered to let the State do their thing and then thought, "Oh no! What if that guy is a dummy." I made it obvious that Edison will not supply power without me. In the end, they fixed everything.

That episode was an eye opener. Here was a Christian University arguing with a building inspector over a life/safety issue that involves sleeping quarters for students. It wasn't like we didn't have a history of working together either.
Click to expand...
apparently they literally believe that Jesus Saves
 
George Shaw said:
apparently they literally believe that Jesus Saves
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IIRC, the Bible - along with Hammurabai - had reference to the first building codes.

Hah.
Found it. God wants guards.

“When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.” — Deuteronomy 22:8
 
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Joe.B said:
Thanks all for the replies. Seems like from a building code perspective it's not a big deal. The planning department is a little bit concerned about the change in occupancy possibly conflicting with the zoning, but they can figure that out.
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But is it, in practical terms, a change in occupancy? A hotel has occupants for 1 to 3 days, maybe a little longer. Not counting the extended stay places. A college dorm has occupants for a defined relatively short term. It’s not like an apartment where you have a 12 month lease and could extend for several years. And the dorm occupants are not going to be moving in their own furniture. Well, that logic falls apart when i remember back to moving my daughter to college …
 
Functionally yeah there is really no need for change, but by definition it does seem to be a change from R-1 to R-2. It doesn't really matter to our building department, but it does matter to planning. They're arguing that this is not a permitted use in this zone. Then of course there is a small faction that's freaking out about the potential loss of transient occupancy tax...

Residential Group R-1 occupancies containing sleeping units where the occupants are primarily transient in nature,
Residential Group R-2 occupancies containing sleeping units or more than two dwelling units where the occupants are primarily permanent in nature,
[BG] TRANSIENT. Occupancy of a dwelling unit or sleeping unit for not more than 30 days.
 
Can anyone tell me what was the impetus for the change in the 2006 IBC that separated hotels (R-1) and apartment houses (R-2), introducing the concept of transient vs. nontransient, when they were previously in the same Group R, Division 1 in the 1997 UBC?

Also, which one is considered "less hazardous" when contemplating a change in occupancy from one to the other?
 
Yikes said:
Can anyone tell me what was the impetus for the change in the 2006 IBC that separated hotels (R-1) and apartment houses (R-2), introducing the concept of transient vs. nontransient, when they were previously in the same Group R, Division 1 in the 1997 UBC?

Also, which one is considered "less hazardous" when contemplating a change in occupancy from one to the other?
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Best answer I've found is that R-1 is higher risk because there's more money involved, specifically insurance. Definition of transient so that zoning can identify allowed uses, and charge appropriate taxes.
 
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