CSF Housing Authority to purchase development
Orange County Register 4/20/07
Cal State Fullerton Housing Authority Director Bill Dickerson told the council Tuesday the deal with developers the Olson Company – contingent on their approval – had been sealed last week in a move to find affordable housing for the growing CSF staff. The units would also be available to a newly formed consortium of the city’s largest employers.
The signing of a memorandum of understanding for the consortium is expected May 7.
The Housing Authority will borrow the $25 million for the construction, which will be paid back as the units are sold.
The condominium project was proposed two years ago by the Olson Company for a former industrial site at 1600 W. Commonwealth Ave. But concerns about land-use changes, parking and architectural design sent the Seal Beach firm back to the drawing board.
At Tuesday’s presentation, the city staff recommended denial of the plans based on a reduction of open space and street setbacks that don’t meet code.
But a 3-2 vote (councilmen Don Bankhead and Richard Jones opposed) moved the project forward.
"Cal State is now the state’s second-largest university and we have a five-year plan to hire 100 faculty per year," Dickerson said. "These people need a place to live."
Dickerson said the two- and three-bedroom units, starting at $350,000, would be completed in 2008.
The housing authority completed a similar project in Buena Park, and is currently building workforce housing on the former Elks property on Brea Boulevard.
The Olson Company is in similar negotiations with Cal Poly Pomona and UC Santa Barbara, Olson Vice President John Reekstin said.
In the Commonwealth project, Olson architects incorporated the existing 65-year-old façade from the Kohlenberger manufacturing company, one of the first to build refrigeration units for the fishing industry.