2008 Woodie Awards
SSU to extend housing and begin Beaujolais Phase II
Courtney Wilcox
Issue date: 11/15/06 Section: News
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Tuscany, the name of the proposed second phase of the apartments, will be similar to the Mediterranean-style architecture of the existing Residential Community with stucco exterior walls, wood trim and red tile roofs.
"Although these buildings won't look identical to Beaujolais, they will have similar characteristics that will allow them to blend well," said Neil Markley, director of administrative services. Rather than the three floors that neighboring Beaujolais boasts, Tuscany will have only two levels.
"There are a lot of benefits of building vertically, but we found that a lot of students disliked having to haul all of their belongings up and down three flights of stairs. We wanted Tuscany to have more of a townhouse feel to it, and one of the ways that we'll be accomplishing that is to include indoor stairwells," said Markley.
Phase II of Beaujolais will have a similar floor plan as the apartments in Sauvignon, with four bedrooms, two of which are doubles, and two of which are singles. Also included in the proposed construction will be two community buildings, similar to the Cooperage in Sauvignon, which will be near the center of the community. This new housing facility will be used by incoming freshmen and transfers, as well as first-year residents who wish to return for a second year of living on campus.
One of the most frustrating issues for the current residents of Beaujolais that the designers and planning professionals hope to alleviate is the lack of parking, especially for the students who live in the buildings of Madeira, Medoc and Loire. Although the plans for the design of Tuscany are not yet completed, there will be a plan to include more parking, as well as an access road between the two parking lots on either side of the Beaujolais apartments.
"Finding a parking spot in the evening on a weekday is almost impossible," said Amy Sugai-Freed, a sophomore living in Medoc. "And having to drive all the way off campus, and then back on to get to the other parking lot for Beaujolais, and then walking back to the other side of the apartments-especially when it's cold or raining-is really inconvenient. Have a road that connects the two would make parking so much easier and efficient."
The building of the new Tuscany townhouses will require the removal of the eucalyptus trees that line the street along East Cotati Avenue, and while some are furious at the removal of these old, towering trees, others see it as a chance to add something new to the area.
"The line of eucalyptus trees was the idea of Lawrence Halpern, the famous landscape architect who planned our campus, but whose plans were not in general followed," said Steve Norwick, a professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Planning. "The eucalyptus is also a fire hazard, because not only does it burn, it explodes. We need to remove it and plant long-lived native trees, like oaks, which will not be so fire-prone, and which will support the birds and insects which belong here."
Both Phase I and II of Beaujolais Village were approved by the Housing Proposal Review Committee and the Board of Trustees in 2001. This proposal included the plans to construct a 1,350-bed student apartment complex that would be completed in two phases. The first phase was to be built with enough rooms to occupy 655 students, and the second phase was to house 695. Since the fall of 2003, when Beaujolais Village opened for occupancy, it has remained popular among upper-division students and has continued to operate at full capacity.
Construction of Phase II was delayed in 2003 due to state of California and CSU budget cuts. Consequently, these cuts in funding resulted in a lower enrollment rate among students, and the decision was made to discontinue the construction until budget and enrollment projections could be stabilized and improved.
In 2006, with state, CSU and university budget and enrollment projections finally back on track, Sonoma State will begin the construction of Beaujolais Village Phase II, which will grow to accommodate increasing demand, as well as meet its enrollment projections.
"When we were forced to cut enrollment due to budget cuts, it was understood that with less students on campus, there was no need for more housing. Now, with more funding and enrollment up, including more housing is the logical next move," said Markley.
Sonoma first opened its doors to on-campus housing in 1972, with the construction of Zinfandel Village and expanded accommodations in 1985 with the Cabernet Village apartments. Since then, the university, with the assistance of the Chancellor's Office, has expanded its Residential Community three more times, with the inclusion of Verdot in 1991, Sauvignon in 2000, and Phase I of Beaujolais in 2003. Currently, the Residential Community accommodates 2,382 students, with 680 bed spaces in residential suites, and 1,702 bed spaces in apartments. Each of these previous projects have opened on-time, within budget, and fully occupied-demonstrating that the university and its team of campus planning, financial, facilities, housing, procurement, and risk management professionals are able to manage these projects and effectively oversee their operation upon completion.
In 2001, Robert Charles Lesser & Co., LLC, a national real estate advisory firm, completed a study evaluating the market potential for additional campus housing at Sonoma State. This study concluded that by 2005, Sonoma would have a significant unmet campus housing need. In the spring of 2003, the university asked Lesser & Co. to update their original study and review the actual versus projected figures that were originally suggested in 2001. The results of this updated study continued to support the need for more bed spaces. This past summer, after having the budget and enrollment numbers restored, Sonoma once again asked Lesser & Co. to project a demand analysis and extend the projections into 2010.
The report theorized that the greater number of students enrolled at Sonoma State who would be in need of housing will not only affect the university, but the surrounding community as well. The local rental market is virtually at full occupancy, and the city of Rohnert Park has almost drained the residential land that is available for new developments. The average local market rental rates of $1,000 to $1,500 a month have been increasing annually by 1.3 to 3.5 percent, and these rates do not include furnishings, utilities, and internet or cable TV access. As a result of these declining vacancy rates and increasing rents, more students will be looking to live on campus past their first or second year.
Lesser & Co.'s 2006 unmet demand projection was supported when, at the end of the spring 2006 semester, the on-campus housing waiting list had over 500 residents on it that hoped to be able to return for 2006-07. With the largest freshmen class in the history of the university, these returning residents could not be accommodated given the demand of housing for freshmen.
Like all other CSU campuses, Sonoma has recognized the need to increase enrollment in order to help meet the higher education needs of California's students. While other CSUs are predicting an annual increase in students of about 2.5 percent, Sonoma's enrollment could grow as high as 6 percent in each of the next three years, or 1,275 students by fall of 2009. With a large majority of students that are originally from cities or towns that are beyond commuting distance each day, this growth will have significant implications for the campus housing program.