> I would be somewhat nervous that undergrads may tear the place apart. [...] I have witnessed firsthand how destructive undergrads can be to the places they live.<p>I've known a few "student housing" landlords, at a (supposedly) highly prestigious university. These things need to be <i>sold</i>, like mobile homes. When the student leaves the university, they are free to resell it. Or pay to have the remains of it hauled off to the dump.<p>Though as the article more-or-less points out, the real issue is finding the vast acreage you'd need to actually set up a meaningful number of these things. Which gets into issues of zoning, infrastructure, and NIMBY's - just like any other at-scale housing construction in America.