Poly Canyon Village dorm project progresses
SLO Tribune 3/26/07
Q: When will the new dorms open?
A: The first phase of the project will be completed by fall 2008, making beds available to 1,167 students, said Preston Allen, Cal Poly’s housing director. The next phase will be finished by fall 2009, adding space for 1,512 more students. The project is now about 25 percent complete, Allen said.
Once these dorms are complete, Cal Poly will have 6,200 beds, or enough to house about 34 percent of the 18,500 currently enrolled students.
Q: What is the cost?
A: The project will cost about $299 million, making it the largest dorm project ever in the 23-campus California State University system, said Larry Kelley, Cal Poly’s vice president for administration and finance.
The CSU board of trustees voted to issue bonds in 2005, which will be paid back through student rent.
Q: What will the dorms include?
A: The complex will have four- and five-bedroom apartments, all with full kitchen facilities, according to the university’s Web site. Fitness facilities, a swimming pool and about 2,000 parking spaces will be included.
Rental rates for students are expected to be similar to Cal Poly’s Cerro Vista Apartments, which now cost each student $643 per month.
Q: How will the project affect SLO’s rental market?
A: Adding new housing drives down prices of local rentals, but that likely would be only temporary, said Brett Banducci with California-West real estate management. The university expects to increase enrollment, Banducci said.
Most four-bedroom apartments in the San Luis Obispo area now rent for about $2,500 a month, Banducci said.