There are 14 College Town Communities across the country, serving the off-campus housing needs of students at 8 universities. Their 26-acre apartment complex in Tampa, FL is within walking distance to USF and home to an abundance of luxury amenities. The complex is proudly marketed as a gated community with 24/7 monitored access, with access control and surveillance solutions recently installed by Surveillance Technology, Inc. (STI).
The existing access control system was outdated, using individually programmed readers. These standalone readers were manually being updated to recognize a set of valid numbers, without the ability to schedule specific access times, manage user hierarchies, maintain a flexible database, or track usage. Modern systems typically include software with an editable database, which pushes updates to multiple readers via cabling. STI replaced the Tampa property’s old system with a DoorKing solution, including telephone entry at the main gate and 3 pedestrian gates at the entrance. A secondary system was installed to control access to the clubhouse, computer lab and fitness center. Access to these amenities is now tied into a single DoorKing platform, empowering property managers to control allowable times for users to access certain areas from one location, and to build a hierarchy of unique access and administrative rights.
The surveillance system installed at the main entrance offers broad views of the inbound and outbound gates, and the leasing office parking area. A license plate camera captures the tags of all vehicles entering the property. This footage is recorded on an 8 channel H.265 4K DVR. A similar DVR accommodates 4K cameras in the leasing office, courtyards and customer interaction areas.
And additional 16 channel H.265 4K DVR in the clubhouse collects footage from strategically placed cameras with broad internal views of the pool tables, big screen TVs, and kitchen.
Outside, two 24/7 color cameras are used in the pool area to capture color footage, even in night vision mode. Six such cameras were also placed on poles, shooting broad views of the east and west parking lots. College Town Communities are known as a luxury provider of off-campus housing, including upscale recreation areas with a resort-style pool, volleyball courts, seating & grills. A variety of cameras capture 24/7 color footage to an 8 channel H.265 4K DVR, along with one camera offering tight views on the jacuzzi.
The maintenance building has its own 8 channel DVR and two 24/7 color cameras trained on two parking lots and the golf cart storage area, along with indoor cameras, and a camera placed atop a 17-foot camera pole for a broad view of the basketball court. 200 feet of cable was trenched to the rear of the property to support two 24/7 color cameras overseeing the lift station and rear parking lot, as well as a 5-megapixel camera with a 5-50mm lens for tight shots on the dumpsters from 280 feet away.
Surveillance Technology, Inc. differentiates itself from the competition by bringing a turnkey solution to large and complex projects. The full array of cameras, each curated for unique needs at specific areas, and multiple recording locations have allowed College Town Communities to have maximum security coverage of all common areas on a sprawling property. The client has been extremely pleased and is able to include gated access and 24/7 surveillance in its marketing to students and their families.
