Potential Radian residents face rooming roadblock

When she came to Penn, College freshman Janey Goldberg was set on living in the Radian, the off-campus luxury apartment building.

She signed her lease in December - just as most freshmen were getting comfortable with their current living arrangements - but not all students were as well-organized.

Now, some potential Radian residents are stuck with a dilemma: There are no fully open apartments left.

"We are not yet sold out," Rachel Kihn, vice president of marketing for Inland American Communities Group, the developer of the Radian, wrote in an e-mail. "We are still signing leases for the remaining spaces, but they are going quickly."

As of now, the Radian is over 75 percent pre-leased for fall 2009, she said.

Goldberg said she knew that the Radian was a "popular" venue and so signed two leases there for a double last semester.

"I didn't know exactly who I was going to live with at the time," she said. "But I think it's nicer than anywhere else on campus."

Leasing began in October for the 2009-2010 school year.

Over half of next year's residents will be returning ones, Kihn said.

But according to its website, the Radian's leases are "by the bed." So even though a quarter of the building is still vacant, these rooms are scattered, forcing those who sign a lease now to live with random housemates.

For College freshman Kevin Karande, this was a significant problem.

"I've spent half of my year here making a core group of friends," he said. "I wasn't willing to live with random people now."

Last week, Karande decided not to sign a lease at the Radian.

But, he added, he would reconsider if a full room were to become available.

*This article was edited at 11:05 p.m. on 2/11/09 to reflect the fact that there are no fully open apartments available in the Radian.

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