Fornelli Hall celebrated the grand opening of its new location in DeKalb on Saturday.

The new two-building apartment complex, 832 Ridge Drive, is accepting early leasing for the 2012-2013 school year.

The grand opening event showcased the demo unit of the complex, alongside rendered photos of the completed site. Raffle tickets and other prizes were also handed out to participates. The event was hosted by complex staff including Adam Friedberg, Fornelli Hall’s leasing manager.

“Fornelli Hall offers NIU something its never had before,” Friedberg said. “High quality, luxury off campus living, at an affordable price.”

The goal of Fornelli is expand the brand, while offering students the ability to live in an upscale housing alternative. The Fornelli brand is well known to Illinois college students.

Fornelli Hall has had a location in Chicago since 2008, which has been servicing both Roosevelt and Robert Morris Universities downtown.

“Safety is our number one goal at Fornelli,” Friedberg said. “The entire complex will be gated, with a 24 hour security booth for entrance. We are the only housing option off campus with roaming security and over 100 security camera locations.”

Some students appreciate the idea of extra security.

“If I were to be searching for an apartment, that’s definitely the kind of place I’d be looking for,” said Adam Rolfs, sophomore biology major.

Unique to Fornelli Hall is the ability to sign individual leases within the same room. This concept allows for roommates to be leased under separate contracts within the same room.

“Individual leasing allows for you to have no legal affiliation with your roommates,” Friedberg said. “We believe that a student should never be punished for something their roommate has done.” Some students said that type of leasing was better than the traditional method.

“I personally would never go into a lease with a roommate I couldn’t trust to hold up their side, however, I definitely think that individual leasing would be great for students in certain situations,” said sophomore accounting major John Staub.

All prices listed for Fornelli Hall are all inclusive for utilities and amenities.