POCATELLO — Idaho State University has selected Radnor Property Group to design, finance, and build a new 370-bed student apartment complex on the northern edge of Bartz Field — the university’s first public-private housing partnership.
The Idaho State Journal reported the update on Thursday, Sept. 18, 2026, after ISU Senior Vice President for Operations Brian Sagendorf outlined the plan to the State Board of Education. Radnor has delivered more than 9 million square feet of student housing and partnered with more than 40 colleges and universities nationwide.
What is planned
The roughly five-acre, 96-unit site sits behind Reed Gym and across from McIntosh Manor. Plans call for four three-story apartment buildings plus a central commons — about 103,800 square feet total. Units will be apartment-style with full kitchens and two to five bedrooms. The commons is meant as a gathering place with indoor space and an outdoor area with grilling, seating, and fire pits, open to nearby residence halls as well as the new complex.
Parking is planned south of the apartments, with a likely entry off the dirt road that now serves Miller Ranch Stadium.
Why ISU is building it
ISU’s roughly 1,200 existing beds on the Pocatello campus have sat at full occupancy with waitlists for years — covering only about 15% of the 8,000 to 9,000 students who attend in the Gate City each year. Enrollment has risen for four straight years, and a late-2024 campus master plan flagged on-campus housing as a major need.
“This is a real transformational project and a high need for the university,” Sagendorf said. “If we want to continue to grow… we currently don’t have the housing to support that continued recruitment.”
Timeline and next steps
ISU received board authorization for a pre-development agreement with Radnor so design can move ahead while the final deal structure is settled. Sagendorf expects to bring a full design package and operating agreement to the State Board of Education in April. If approved, groundbreaking is targeted for August 2027, with students moving in for fall 2029 after an 18- to 20-month build.
ISU would keep student assignments and residential life (including a resident director on site). Radnor would own, maintain, and operate the buildings under one of three public-private models still being finalized.
Project Quick Facts:
Rendering: Courtesy Idaho State University via Idaho State Journal.
Source: Idaho State Journal, “ISU advances plans for 370-bed public-private student housing complex on Bartz Field” (Shelbie Harris, Sept. 18, 2026).
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