Property of the Month - Broadband Communities

Student Housing,
Texas-Size: TAMU Park West

By Steven S. Ross October 2017

Faced with a tight deadline and a massive project, Servitas engaged Synergy Fiber as their "Total Technology Partner" to install and run all IT services.

Highlights

  • Largest greenfield student build in the U.S. (3,000+ beds)
  • Gigabit service provided to every tenant
  • Single-vendor integration (Data, Wi-Fi, Security, Access)

Project Background

TAMU Park West opened for more than 3,000 students in August 2017. As the largest student housing development in the U.S., it required a sophisticated technology mix baked into a very short 16-month construction window.

Tight Deadline

The 16-month "cooking time" required intense coordination between developers and IT integrators.

High Standards

"It is rare to find a true IT partner capable of handling all these integrations," says Trey Verbick of Servitas.

The Technology

A robust single-vendor infrastructure designed for performance and future scalability.

Fiber Backbone

Armored fiber runs from the Main Distribution Frame (MDF) to each building.

Cabling Infrastructure

Cat 6 for vertical connections; Cat 5e and Quad Shield RG6 for horizontal runs.

Core Equipment

Cisco core distribution, Ruckus wireless APs, and Sony surveillance.

Network Ownership

Owned by NCCD-College Station Properties and managed by Synergy Fiber.

Lessons Learned & Success Factors

01

Intense Planning

On this all-inclusive project, the planning phase was intense. As Synergy's largest deployment at the time, meticulous execution was required to finish on time.

02

Temporary MDF Challenges

Managing a temporary MDF on an active construction site with power outages was necessary to facilitate early testing in townhome sections.

03

Comprehensive Testing

Synergy certified and documented the performance of every Ethernet drop, Wi-Fi zone, and security camera before residents occupied the property.

"We have found Synergy to be an invaluable partner, proving capable of even the biggest projects... their expertise has helped us save money since 2010."
— Trey Verbick, VP Market Research, Servitas Management Group