Foundry Apartments Still Top Location Of Reported Campus Crime

("Apartment for Rent"  by Jun Acullador via Flickr )

The Foundry Apartments tops the UT-Tyler Police's Daily Crime Log as the most frequent site of reported campus crime.

Since Aug. 14, The Foundry has had 10 instances of reported police responses. It saw three instances of drug / narcotics offense, two instances of domestic violence, one report of sexual assault, one of harassment, one stalking, one habitation burglary and one weapons offense. Two offenses (the weapons offense and a drug / narcotics offense) led to arrests. In the past semester, The Foundry has been the site of the most criminal incidents that led to an arrest of all six campus housing facilities.

In contrast, Liberty Landing Apartments had seven, mostly alcohol- and traffic-related offenses. It has no reported drug-related offenses and no arrests. Ornelas Hall had five incidents, one drug / narcotics offense and no arrests. Patriot Village had four incidents, one a drug paraphernalia offense and no arrests. University Pines had three incidents, none drug-related, and one arrest for criminal trespassing. Victory Village had one incident for stalking and no arrests. 

The Foundry remains the top residential housing site with the most reported police activity and criminal arrests of all campus housing. 

The University's contract with The Foundry Apartments is open for renewal in January, but officials have not said whether the University will renew.

The Foundry Apartments is a privately-owned apartment complex across the street from The University of Texas at Tyler. The complex currently holds a one-year contract with UT-Tyler to house university students. The University presently occupies a block of seven buildings on The Foundry complex and its students pay a lower package rate for utilities and other amenities, according to student housing officials.

The Foundry previously garnered a negative reputation among some after multiple on-site shootings in 2020 and reports of poor conditions. 

However, University officials told student government this semester that new owners have made dedicated attempts to raise standards at The Foundry and overcome the complex's poor image.

"When we first looked at The Foundry, our initial reaction was, 'No way'", Executive Director of Housing Joe Berthiaume told student government on Oct. 3. "We can never guarantee 100 percent safety, but they have made a serious effort over there," he said.

So, given The Foundry has the highest number of police instances of all student housing, then is this enough of an improvement for the University to renew its contract? 

It seems to me that The University will renew with The Foundry. Given what I have heard about Residence Life's struggle to find available student housing and its scarcity in the Tyler area, it seems The Foundry is the University's best option among alternatives going forward. So I suspect it will renew.

I suspect the University will even expand its occupancy at the apartments and so that even more students can make up its resident population instead of clientele who may present risks to student safety. More student residents means The Foundry will have a similar culture as other student housing facilities and will probably lower the number of criminal instances. In the meantime, officials will continue to express their concern about safety and demand strict standards while it partners with The Foundry. 

With the most criminal instances of the fall semester, The Foundry Apartments is still the most unsafe housing complex of all student housing. While the University's renewal may go forward, students would do well to maintain their concern about their safety at The Foundry. The Foundry Apartments is still less safe than other student housing. 

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Feature Image: "Apartment for Rent"  by Jun Acullador via Flickr

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