Off-Campus Housing Near Iowa State University
The Grove at Ames sits in South Ames along the S Grand Ave / S Duff Ave corridor — a short CyRide ride or drive from ISU's central campus, with furnished 2- and 3-bedroom apartments built around a student's schedule.
The Grove at Ames is located at 1407 S Grand Ave, in Ames' South Ames Business neighborhood — a corridor of everyday conveniences along South Duff Avenue, just south of the Iowa State University campus and Campustown's restaurant and nightlife strip. It's a quieter setting than living directly on top of campus, with an ALDI, CVS Pharmacy, and the South Duff commercial district within easy reach, while the historic Old Town district and Reiman Gardens sit just around the corner.
Getting to campus from here is a matter of picking the mode that fits your day. It's roughly 1.8 miles to central campus — an easy 5-minute drive, an 11-minute bike ride down S Duff Ave, or a direct ride on CyRide's Blue Route, which runs along South 4th Street and South Duff Avenue straight into the heart of ISU. For students who'd rather skip campus parking altogether, CyRide is free with a valid ISU student ID, making a car-free commute genuinely realistic.
Beyond campus, Ames offers a full college-town lineup: the bars, cafes, and late-night food of Welch Avenue in Campustown, the shops and restaurants of Downtown Ames, and the trails of Brookside Park and Ada Hayden Heritage Park for days when you need a break from studying. With more than 30 restaurants and bars packed into Campustown alone, and a walkable downtown just a short drive north, students at The Grove at Ames are never far from something to do.
Built for however your program runs
The Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business offers BBA, MBA, and graduate programs spanning finance, marketing, supply chain management, and information systems and business analytics, with a full slate of dual-degree options pairing an MBA with fields from engineering to veterinary medicine. Business students split time between Gerdin Business Building lectures, case-study group work, and the internships and networking events that pull many students toward downtown Ames and Des Moines.
The Grove at Ames is a straightforward 5-minute drive or 12-minute CyRide Blue Route ride from the Gerdin Business Building. For students juggling group project meetings on campus with internship commitments off it, having both a fast campus connection and easy access to South Duff Avenue and downtown means fewer scheduling headaches — and no daily hunt for a campus parking permit.
Iowa State's College of Engineering is one of the university's largest colleges, covering aerospace, civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering among more than a dozen majors. Engineering coursework tends to run late — labs, project deadlines, and design-build teams routinely keep students on campus well past a typical school day, especially in the engineering buildings clustered on the west side of central campus.
From The Grove at Ames, that's a 5-minute drive or an 11-minute bike ride via South Duff Avenue, with the CyRide Blue Route running until 1 a.m. on class nights for students leaving late labs without a car. In-unit high-speed internet and shared study space at the community support the computing-heavy coursework engineering programs demand after hours.
As the nation's first public veterinary school, Iowa State's College of Veterinary Medicine enrolls its DVM class on a separate campus north of central ISU, centered on the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center. Veterinary students face some of the earliest and least flexible schedules on campus, with clinical rotations that can start before sunrise and run into the evening.
The Grove at Ames is about a 10-minute drive from the veterinary campus — a manageable, predictable commute that doesn't depend on threading through central campus traffic. For students whose rotation schedule shifts week to week, having a reliable car commute (with the option to park on-site) matters more than being immediately walkable to central campus.
Iowa State's land-grant roots run through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, which spans everything from agronomy and animal science to biology and food science across the buildings clustered on central campus's south side. Coursework mixes lecture halls with lab sections and, for many majors, field or greenhouse research that runs on its own schedule.
The Grove at Ames sits a quick 5-minute drive or straightforward CyRide Blue Route ride from these buildings, keeping early lab sections and long research afternoons within easy reach without the cost or wait list of a campus parking permit.
As Iowa State's largest college, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences covers dozens of departments — from English and history to psychology and political science — with graduate students centering their work around Parks Library, departmental offices, and teaching assistantship classrooms spread across central campus.
The Grove at Ames offers furnished 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at a rent point that works well for students funded on graduate stipends, without giving up a fast, direct connection to campus via the CyRide Blue Route or a short drive down South Duff Avenue.
No car needed — here's why
Ames is built around Iowa State, and CyRide is the reason a car-free commute actually works here. The system runs 13 fixed routes on class days, buses are free for every ISU student with a valid ID, and the Blue Route connects the South Duff Avenue / South 4th Street corridor — right by The Grove at Ames — directly to central campus without a transfer.
More than just campus
Ames is a genuine college town, and Campustown's Welch Avenue strip is only a short ride from The Grove at Ames — alongside the everyday essentials of the South Duff Avenue corridor right outside your door.
- Clouds Café Campustown
- Café Beaudelaire Campustown
- Hickory Park Restaurant Co. Duff Ave
- Wok and Roll Welch Ave
- Welch Ave Station Campustown
- Bar La Tosca Campustown
- Cy's Roost Campustown
- Octagon Center for the Arts Downtown
- Reiman Gardens 1.2 mi
- Brookside Park Ames
- Ada Hayden Heritage Park Ames
- ALDI Supermarket Nearby
- CVS Pharmacy Nearby
- South Duff Ave Shopping Adjacent
- Mary Greeley Medical Center 2.3 mi
Location FAQ
The Grove at Ames is about 1.8 miles from Iowa State's central campus, which works out to roughly a 5-minute drive during normal traffic. By CyRide bus, the ride is about 12 minutes on the Blue Route, which runs directly from the South 4th Street / South Duff Avenue area to campus. Biking the same route takes around 11 minutes along South Duff Avenue. Walking is a longer option at around 34 minutes, so most residents lean on the bus, a bike, or a short drive rather than walking daily. Compared to other off-campus options in Ames, this puts The Grove at Ames within a quick and predictable commute of ISU without the price premium of buildings directly adjacent to campus.
Yes. CyRide's Blue Route runs along South 4th Street and South Duff Avenue near The Grove at Ames and connects directly to Iowa State's central campus, and the ride is free for any student with a valid ISU ID. Biking is also a realistic option at about 11 minutes each way via South Duff Avenue. Driving remains available for weekend errands or trips outside the CyRide service area, but for a daily class-day commute, most residents find the bus or bike covers it without needing to pay for a campus parking permit. The main trade-off to plan around is that CyRide runs on a school-year schedule, so trips outside class days or late at night may take a bit more planning.
The Blue Route is the primary CyRide line serving the South Duff Avenue and South 4th Street corridor near The Grove at Ames, connecting that area directly to Iowa State's central campus. CyRide operates 13 fixed routes across Ames on a school-year schedule, generally running from early morning until 1 a.m. on class days, with reduced service during university breaks. Fares are free for ISU students who show a valid student ID when boarding, and the general public rides for $1 per trip. Students can track real-time bus arrivals through CyRide's MyRide tool or the MyState app to plan trips around a class schedule.
The Ivy College of Business is on Iowa State's central campus, about a 5-minute drive or 12-minute CyRide ride from The Grove at Ames — the same general commute as most other central-campus colleges. The College of Veterinary Medicine sits on a separate campus north of central ISU, centered on the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center, and runs about a 10-minute drive from the community. Veterinary students with early clinical rotations typically find a short, predictable car commute more practical than relying on transit for that specific campus, while business students commuting to the Gerdin Business Building on central campus have easy access to CyRide's Blue Route.
Off-campus student housing near Iowa State ranges from large purpose-built apartment communities to converted houses scattered through Ames' residential neighborhoods, with options concentrated in Campustown, along South Duff Avenue, and in the quieter South Ames neighborhoods. The Grove at Ames sits in the South Duff Avenue corridor, offering fully furnished 2- and 3-bedroom apartments with private bedrooms and bathrooms, a 24-hour fitness center, a resort-style pool, and dedicated study space — features geared toward the day-to-day realities of a student schedule rather than a general apartment lease. For students who want distance from the noise of Campustown while keeping a fast, direct bus connection to campus, it's a solid middle ground.
CyRide's Blue Route runs on class days into the evening, connecting central campus directly to the South Duff Avenue and South 4th Street corridor near The Grove at Ames. On Friday and Saturday nights, the Moonlight Express late-night shuttle adds extra coverage across Ames for students heading home after a game, a study session, or a night out. Biking the route takes about 11 minutes door to door, and a drive is roughly 5 minutes, so residents typically have several options for the return trip regardless of the hour.
See it for yourself
Tour The Grove at Ames and see how close campus, CyRide, and everyday essentials really are.
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