Collins Crossing courts UNC students

Two years ago, Collins Crossing Apartments didn’t even have a Facebook page .

Today, the Carrboro complex’s profile picture features Rameses wearing his finest tropical garb — a coconut bra and a hula skirt — posing beside two young women.

After months of protests about rising rents and subpar living conditions from its longtime residents, it looks like the complex is working to attract more students .

Eric McKenzie , a sophomore chemistry and history double major from Fayetteville, recently signed a 12-month lease with the complex for next year, and he said he is excited about the opportunity.

“We just did an internet search for cheap apartments in Chapel Hill, and Collins Crossing was one of the complexes that came up,” McKenzie said.

“It looked nice when we visited, so we just went with it. They were publicizing the complex as a great place for UNC students to live.”

Recently, the complex’s longtime residents have publicly complained that the management team fails to address simple maintenance requests.

But some current student residents say that’s not the case for them.

Josh Horwitz , a UNC sophomore chemistry and computer science double major from Hendersonville, said he has had nothing but good experiences with the complex.

“I’ve never had any problems with management or maintenance,” he said.

“I even requested replacement blinds because my dog, Abby, chewed them up. Maintenance came immediately and never even made me pay the pet fee for the chewed blinds. It was really nice of them.”

The complex is also scheduled to renovate its apartments .

The complex’s homeowners association recently passed a series of fees that would help pay to renovate stairwells throughout the complex.

“When we took our tour, we were told that the complex was undergoing a multimillion dollar renovation and that they were starting fresh,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie also said he saw an abundance of residents who appeared to be UNC students while attending his tour of the complex.

“When the bus pulled up to the Collins Crossing stop, a bunch of UNC students got off,” he said.

“They had on their book bags, and they were wearing their UNC gear and everything.”

Horowitz is a current resident in the complex and said he found Collins Crossing after conducting a web search independent of Facebook, similar to McKenzie.

“I searched for apartments in the area on an apartments review website,” he said.

“And from what I’ve seen, I’d say there are 15 to 20 other UNC students living here.”

The complex’s management declined to comment after multiple attempts.

Representatives were sent from the complex to the student-focused Housing Fair hosted by The Daily Tar Heel on campus in February.

city@dailytarheel.com