WEST PLAINS, Mo. – Officials at Missouri State University-West Plains will begin managing the Shoe Factory Lofts, 665 Missouri Ave., in West Plains beginning Jan. 1, 2017, according to terms of a facilities management agreement that was approved through resolution Wednesday by members of the Missouri State University Board of Governors at their executive committee meeting in Springfield.

With the agreement, the name of the facility will change to Grizzly Lofts, university officials said.

The agreement, proposed by the facility’s owner, Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC, will place the 274-person student residential facility under the university’s management for an 18-month period ending June 30, 2018, at which time the agreement can be renegotiated should the parties choose to do so. Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC, will retain ownership of the property throughout the 18-month period, according to terms of the agreement.

“After being approached about taking over management of the Shoe Factory Lofts, we spent several months developing a plan that will benefit all parties involved, including students,” said Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett. “Recruitment and retention will be enhanced with this residence hall being incorporated into our overall enrollment management plan. In addition, as part of the facilities management agreement, expenses for managing the facility will be provided by Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC, with no additional costs being incurred by Missouri State University-West Plains.”

“I am pleased university officials have accepted our invitation to manage the facility,” said Dr. John Phillips, Cabool, managing member of Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC. “This arrangement will provide a continuity in management that will be beneficial to all parties involved, and I look forward to working with them in this capacity.”

Transferring management of the Grizzly Lofts to Missouri State-West Plains provides the university with the capacity to increase the number of students living on campus. Since its opening in August 1994, the 60-person Grizzly House, the university’s first residential facility, has been at full capacity with a waiting list, Bennett explained. Finding adequate housing for students wishing to enjoy a complete collegiate experience has been a long-held goal of university officials, he added, explaining the addition of Grizzly Lofts gives students two excellent housing options from which to choose.

It also gives university officials the opportunity to apply its residential policies to students living in the Grizzly Lofts, and allows students to have housing costs at the Grizzly Lofts added to their university accounts where financial aid awards can be applied to them, Bennett said. This wasn’t possible under the current private management plan for the facility, he added.

The agreement outlines several items of responsibility for the university and Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC. Under terms of the agreement, the university will be responsible for:

• managing and providing student programs consistent with its oversight of other university residence facilities, including the Grizzly House;

• assessing and collecting student room and board, and transferring those funds to Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC;

• marketing the facility through high school visits, recruitment events, advertising and publications;

• employing a full-time on-site facility manager, full-time custodian, part-time resident director and four resident assistants (25 percent of the salary and benefits for the facility manager will be paid by the university, since this person also will serve as manager of the Grizzly House; the remaining 75 percent will be paid by Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC.);

• establishing a residency requirement for the West Plains campus, effective in fall 2017, which will require students to live on campus (Exceptions to this policy will include students who are over age 21, married or the custodial parent of a minor, have medical conditions that would make living on campus impossible, or living with a parent or grandparent within the campus’ seven-county primary service area, which includes Howell, Oregon, Shannon, Texas, Wright, Ozark and Douglas counties).

Responsibilities of Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC, under terms of the agreement, include:

• providing and paying for food service at the facility (Students will receive a 16-meal-per-week plan through the end of the 2016-2017 academic year and a 20 meal-per-week plan beginning in fall 2017. The 20 meal-per-week plan is the same plan provided to students in the Grizzly House.);

• paying all expenses associated with the facility, including utilities, insurance, maintenance, trash collections, etc.;

• paying all salaries and benefits for employees hired by the university to manage the facility, with the exception of the facility manager, whose salary will be divided 25/75 percent between the university and Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons, LLC;

• providing $10,000 to the university to help market the Grizzly Lofts during the term of the agreement.

Other requirements outlined in the agreement include the establishment of a separate account by the university in which funds collected from students living in the Grizzly Lofts will be kept; and the right of first refusal for the university should Howell Creek Shoe Factory Commons LLC choose to sell the facility.

For more information about the agreement, contact Bennett at 417-255-7900 or Scott Schneider, director of business and support services, at 417-255-7260.