Issue date: 4/18/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Megan Markham New lofts on 65th and Folsom Boulevard will open for the fall 2007 semester and is near the light rail station and shops. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Photo courtesy of CSUS.edu [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Megan Markham According to rent.com, there are 33 other comparable apartments in the Sacramento area. [Click to enlarge]

For many students, the offer of fully furnished units, paid utilities, high ceilings, a community clubhouse and easy access to the Sacramento State campus and surrounding restaurants sounds like a dream. But it's not.

Executive Director of University Enterprises Matt Altier said that all of this and more will be available to students very soon at an affordable rate, as the Upper Eastside Lofts on 65th Street are set to open for the fall 2007 semester.

The lofts will serve as a student community for a minimum of 15 years, according to a new contract. The lofts will also provide students with on-site residential advisers, security services and a mixture of residential and campus life programs.

"I think the lofts will be an absolutely wonderful addition to the residential portfolio," Altier said.

He said that the lofts will add approximately 450 beds to the total number of campus beds.

"(This project) will increase the total number of beds at the university by almost 50 percent," Altier said.

Altier said the project will also help the university accomplish its goal of becoming a destination campus. He said the lofts will be modern-style apartments with full kitchens, stainless steel appliances, washers and dryers, balconies and a swimming pool.

"We are anticipating that each unit will house between three and five students depending on the size and type of unit."

President Alexander Gonzalez said the units being so close to campus and the light rail and bus station doesn't hurt their appeal either. He said that Allen & O'Hara, a professional student housing management company, will be responsible for leasing the units and managing the residential program.

Sophomore child development major Laura Richardson and junior engineering major Amanda Wood said they couldn't be more thrilled about the addition.

"I am so excited about this," Richardson said. "I am so happy that the university has looked at this project in a more modern and up-to-date way, as opposed to making the units similar to the on-campus dorms, which are overpriced, cramped and disgusting."

"The fact that (the lofts) will be so close to campus makes me happy," Wood said. "I would love to be able to ride my bike or jog to campus instead of having to either waste gas or take the bus. It seems like it would be a lot less stressful."

Altier said that while no actual price has been set, the end cost will be both affordable and comparable to the student housing market.

Gonzalez said he is expecting the prices to stay between $500 and $600 per month.

"They need to be competitive," Gonzalez said.

Junior business administration major Justin Smith agrees that the prices need to be both competitive and reasonable.
"It's not enough for the lofts to be close to school they need to be nice and affordable as well," Smith said. "We're college students after all, not millionaires."

According to the Rent.com website, there are 33 other apartment complexes, that are in the greater Sacramento area and offer similar features and service to the lofts for less than $600 a month. Of that number approximately 16 complexes are within five minutes of the campus with less than five offering their tenants fully paid utilities.

Altier said that reservations for the lofts are now being accepted and that interested students should call University Enterprises Inc. at (916) 278-7001 to sign up or request additional information.

Ashley Evans can be reached at news@statehornet.com

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