State budget deficits in 2023 prompted district facility managers to redesign the student housing project on campus after the funding was repealed, Los Rios Community College District Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Management Pablo Manzo said.
Because of delays in the project’s design, the $44 million in grant funding had not yet been spent, which helped Cosumnes River College avoid paying money back to the state of California, something other institutions had to do after grant funding was pulled state-wide due to the state’s budget deficits, Manzo said.
“In our district, at a minimum, they pulled back the housing money, they pulled back our instructional equipment and deferred maintenance money,” Manzo said. “They slashed that and in subsequent years since then, we haven’t received anything.”
Manzo said the lack of proper funding management on behalf of the state is a problem because facilities are constructed and maintained with the district’s operating funds, but without the state’s deferred funds for maintenance, it can be difficult for the district to properly assess any major concerns that arise.
The student housing project will now be constructed in the southwest end of the campus in Parking Lot C, Manzo said. The $44.1 million was set aside for brick and mortar, not purchasing land. The purchase price of the previous off-site location was above market rate, making it a financially irresponsible decision for the school to make, he said. There were multiple off-site locations considered, but a decision had not been made.
The project still has a mandate of 147 beds and a conceptual design combining a mixture of apartment and dormitory architecture to promote a communal environment, Manzo said.
The state-funded project is aimed at adding to the general housing numbers in California to combat the ongoing housing crisis. The apartment options will be able to accommodate families, making the option for two people to a queen bed possible. This means the number of beds is not directly correlated to the number of occupants.
“Our goal was, all along, to put together some student housing for CRC,” Vice President of Administrative Services Theresa Tena said. “So, that hadn’t changed. So, it’s just a matter of what is the most straightforward way to go about this project.”
The project’s location was designed to be as close as possible to the main buildings on campus, avoiding the old softball field near the northwest perimeter of campus, Tena said. Online and in-person admissions data in recent years following the coronavirus pandemic have led project managers to conclude the housing project won’t cause issues for student parking and it has not been an area of concern.
Although the construction is now set to take place on campus, this does not mean the timeline has been shortened or the budget has changed, Tena said.
A formal design for the project is expected to take place in January and be submitted to the Division of the State Architect by the fall of 2025, Manzo said. Students on campus for the fall of 2028 should expect to be the first cohort of tenants in student housing.
While the project is a first for the LRCCD, Sierra College in Rocklin currently has two functional student housing projects with a third in construction at the center of their campus, Director of Administrative Services Chris Raines said.
“Overall, I think it’s a clear benefit of, if you’re trying to save money and you’re working for the college, while living at the college, while going to school at the college,” Raines said.