Flatts at South Campus Renovations Create Community-Themed Atmosphere

By Katie Matkins and Jessica Clark
Hottytoddy.com interns

The Flatts at South Campus—located at 900 Whirlpool Dr.—went through some recent interior and exterior upgrades after a need for change was noticed. Once known as University Trails, the apartment complex is undergoing renovations as a part of rebranding its image. One year later, the construction project is coming to a close. However, to the staff, they are far from done.

The view of the remodeled logo featured on the entry sign coming from Whirlpool Dr. Photo by Katie Matkins.

Blake Sullivant, leasing manager for the Flatts at South Campus, said they are rebranding with a complete renovation of their buildings to create a more up-to-date and comfortable setting for people to reside in, a place that looks like and feels like home.

“We completely redid everything. We took the buildings and basically gutted them. Everything is updated and new and modern,” he said. “We just want our residents to know that we’re here to serve them. The main goal would be to be completely rebranded as a new place.”

The staff at Flatts at South Campus works diligently to make sure residents needs are met. Photo by Katie Matkins.

The new management, Capstone Realty, has brought a new light to the apartment complex. Building renovations aside, the apartment complex update began with the staff. The Flatts at South Campus is now staffed with new employees. Sullivant, one of the new staff members himself, said he is devoted to maintaining a staff that cares about its residents. In addition to the physical rebranding, other work was put in to make the Flatts at South Campus feel like a home to the residents.

“We do different events to get the residents involved within our community. We had a volleyball tournament and (we’re having) movie nights. We just try to give them different things on site. We want everyone in Oxford to get a sense of what we have strived to accomplish here.”

The new staff is making positive strides at the Flatts at South Campus.The complex is working towards making their staff more reachable, making the apartment complex more of a community, and ensuring a safe environment. To do this, residents are now provided with free events in an effort to create a sense of community. These events are highlighted on social media accounts, which is another piece to its rebranding puzzle.

“We push for a residence-centered atmosphere, so just anything the resident needs we do our best to accommodate it,” he said.

Along with the communal atmosphere, the staff wanted to make the complex feel like a neighborhood. Sullivant said he took this goal as an opportunity. He knows every name and face of the residents so he can greet them when they walk into the main office. 

“We care about our residents,” he said. 

All it took was one less-than-stellar review for the owners of the Flatts at South Campus to realize the need to rebrand the complex to better serve the Oxford community by adding an extra layer of safety for the residents. Some reviews portrayed that the environment was not protecting the residents as well as it should. Immediately, Capstone management stepped in and added several layers of protection for the community they cherished. They even take extra measures on busy weekends in Oxford.

“It used to be that University Trails was not the safest place to live. But now we’ve completely rebranded,” he said. “At night we have Blue Security that makes rounds throughout the whole night. We always have somebody looking at the property. We also are with Marquis Towing. So, there’s not a football weekend where everybody can park here.”

With the location being so close to campus, as well as being so close to the new South Campus Recreation Center, the Flatts at South Campus attracts many students. It offers one, two, three and four bedroom apartments. 

“It’s mainly students living here. We do have some professional students, grad students, and a couple of families, so we are diverse as far as that goes,” Sullivant said.

With renovations coming to a close and ambitions still on the rise, the Flatts at South Campus is always welcoming new residents.