Sac State starts search for housing village developer
Sacramento Business Journal 4/17/07
University Enterprises Inc., the nonprofit business and development arm of the university, expects to issue a request-for-qualifications in about a month to the almost 20 residential developers who have already expressed interest in the project.
The project would consist of no more than 450 single-family houses, townhouses and multi-plexes, a park of about 3 acres and a small business district of about 10,000 square feet with perhaps a convenience store and coffee shop.
Dean hopes to have a developer selected by August. The project needs approval from the California State University Board of Trustees.
The site is the former California Youth Authority land near Power Inn Road and Cucamonga Avenue. The project cost would exceed $150 million, said Tim Dean, project manager for University Enterprises.
The majority of the homes would be for sale. But faculty and staff would only own the buildings, not the land underneath. They would lease the land from University Enterprises. With the ground lease, the nonprofit could control the amount the houses appreciate in value, keeping them more affordable than market rate for the next buyer.
The units would probably range from $200,000 to $400,000.
When faculty or staff members are ready to sell, "they have to sell it to another faculty or staff member," said Matt Altier, the nonprofit's executive director.
One motivation for the village is to help Sacramento State retain and attract faculty and staff. Many young people have rejected job offers at the university after learning they couldn't afford to buy a house in the Sacramento region.
Developing faculty and staff villages "is becoming a normal thing to do for many colleges and universities," Dean said.
The first phase of the village would likely be completed in late 2009.
The project would create a "nice link" between Sacramento State and various redevelopment projects in the area, Sacramento City Councilman Kevin McCarty said.