The facility was a separate entity from UNC until it came under the jurisdiction of the University in 2009.
The development was the first test to test if students would live in boxed housing by a private company, said Chris Richards, chief operating officer and executive vice president of EdR, a national student housing company.
“It was a business model that worked,” she said.
While the property is managed by EdR, it’s owned by the UNC Chapel Hill Foundation. The UNC Residence Hall Association and the Department of Housing and Residential Education oversee the residential life component.
“There’s a direct tie between residential life and Granville Towers,” said Gordon Merklein, executive director of real estate development.
Paul Bower, now the chairman of the EdR Board of Directors, served as assistant general manager of Granville Towers in 1969. He said his job was not much different than working in traditional college dormitories.