Carnegie Mellon University

Fifth Neville apartments

December 06, 2018

Housing Services Expands Neighborhood Concept

Mandi Semple
  • Director of Marketing, Student Affairs

Carnegie Mellon Housing Services recently purchased the Fifth Neville Apartments, located at 4705 Fifth Avenue in the Oakland neighborhood directly across from the Residence on Fifth and near the Highlands, Clyde House, Fairfax, Shady Oak, and Webster.

"The purchase was a strategic acquisition," says CMU's Executive Director of Housing Services and Space Planning Thomas Cooley. "A major theme of the Housing Services' master plan, which will continue to shape the future of campus housing for years to come, is the neighborhood concept. In terms of the location, the Fifth Neville Apartments geographically expands the Oakland neighborhood and dovetails perfectly with plans to build a brand new residence hall on the Fifth and Clyde site."

Fifth Neville also made sense from a financial and capital planning perspective because the building is in great shape. "It has nice common spaces for residents and also offers more parking for our entire CMU community," says Cooley. "Parking Service is anticipated to take over the operation of the parking lot for the next faculty and staff parking cycle which begins in 2019."

After current residents' leases end, some renovation work will take place throughout the summer and fall with mechanical and infrastructure upgrades such as new fire alarm and sprinkler systems, upgraded electrical system, and potentially adding air conditioning.

Approximately 85 percent of the current Fifth Neville Apartment tenants are CMU students. "This was another compelling reason to purchase the building. It's already filled with our students, which demonstrates that the location is key. Additionally, having the opportunity to make it better for students by improving both infrastructure and service along with adding community support from a Residential Education perspective is a true enhancement to the student experience."

Fifth Neville offers studios, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units with plenty of common spaces to encourage a communal residential atmosphere.

Sample floor plan of a two-bedroom apartment:

Fifth Neville Floor Plan