A company that specializes in student housing and apartments proposes to build 36 duplexes and 46 four-bedroom cottages in the 300 block of S. Kerr Avenue near UNCW, according to site plans submitted to the city of Wilmington.

To make way for the new off-campus housing, less than a mile from UNCW on more than 12 acres, the builder of Aspen Heights would have to demolish at least four existing structures, the site plans show. The duplexes would consist of three bedrooms. The developer for the project has the same name as the community, Aspen Heights, and is based in Austin, Texas.  

"Aspen Heights has been working closely with the business community and local government over the past year to determine if our signature cottage- style development would be an ideal fit for students of UNCW," said Stuart Watkins, a spokesman for the company, in an email Wednesday. "We are excited about our proposed development in the Wilmington community and feel this type of off-campus living offers a unique and desired experience for students."

Ron Satterfield, the city’s assistant planning director, said several of the city’s zoning districts allow duplexes on individual lots as by-right uses and they are built somewhat regularly. Small duplex projects on Greenville Avenue were approved by the City Council recently: two structures at 237 Greenville Avenue in December and four at 217-219 Greenville Avenue on April 7.

Aspen Heights' site plans for South Kerr are expected to be reviewed at the city's Technical Review Committee meeting in May. Watkins said it is too early too determine exact rental rates for the development's various units and floor plans, but historically, Aspen Heights rates tend to be competitive with the local market. "We expect the same for our Wilmington property," Stewart said. 

The developer, founded in 2006 with eight employees, is a growing company that employed 170 as of 2013, according to the Aspen Heights corporate website. Currently, Aspen Heights has 13 operational properties, including apartments in Charlotte, and more slated for this year.

"The cottage-style housing concept is one that we have had success with across the county, but it is not the only product we develop," Watkins said. "We felt, however, that it was the right product for this market."  

If the project is approved, it would be late summer before the company could break ground on the project, said T.C. Selman, vice president of pre-construction for Aspen Heights, in an email Wednesday.

Site plans say RPP Holdings LLC owns the land where the project would be built. RPP Holdings paid $5.35 million to Longley Supply for a little more than 10 acres at 302 S. Kerr Avenue, according to New Hanover County property tax records.

Student housing construction in the U.S. has experienced significant growth in recent years to meet pent-up demand, especially at smaller higher education institutions, according to an article in the National Apartment Association's Campus Connections newsletter last year. Citing data from Axiometrics Inc., the article says the University of North Carolina Charlotte ranked No. 7 for the number of apartments planned or under construction from 2014-2016. 

​The University of North Carolina Wilmington's total enrollment, which the university's website says was 14,611 for fall 2014, has been on the rise in recent years. Enrollment grew by nearly 11 percent from 2011 to 2014, according to data from the UNC system's Institutional Research & Analysis website.

Less than a mile from the property where Aspen Heights is proposed in Wilmington, the sale of a luxury student housing development, on property formerly owned by RPP Holdings LLC, was announced in January. Progress Student Living sold Progress910, a 168-unit rental community at 316 Marlboro St. near UNCW, to Phillips Acquisitions, a privately held real estate investment, development and management firm based in Santa Barbara, California.

Also nearby, a 228-unit apartment complex that caters to students, Carolina Cove, was completed by developer University Housing Group in 2013, according to Multifamily Realty Advisors, a regional commercial real estate firm that keeps track of local apartment data.