Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Megan Markham Officials of the Upper Eastside Lofts said delays in the construction contributed to unexpected vacancies. [Click to enlarge]

Though many of the beds remain vacant, officials of the Upper Eastside Lofts - off-campus housing exclusively for Sacramento State students - are optimistic about filling the empty rooms as the semester progresses.

If rooms remain vacant, University Enterprises, Inc. Executive Director and CEO Matt Altier said the lofts could be available to others with connections to Sac State, such as faculty or students at local junior colleges planning to transfer, though this is not an option presently.

Altier said because construction took longer than expected, officials of the lofts were unable to fully showcase the rooms to prospective residents until a week before school started.

"We could only show pictures, but since it's opened, the interest has just been phenomenal, and we are getting a lot of parents and students calling us and coming over," he said.

Altier said he believes that with word-of-mouth, the vacant rooms will be filled over the semester.

The building is administered by a private property management company instead of directly by the school's own Housing and Residential Life program.

The new building offers a hybrid of the traditional dorm-room style housing with the floor plans and amenities of a loft, as well as complete kitchens and flat-screen TVs. However, they tend to be a little more crowded with up to five beds per room.

Altier said the lofts were not initially designed as student-housing units, but were designed as urban loft apartments instead.

"It's not as private as an apartment complex, but you do have the amenities of living in an apartment complex, so it's a real nice mix between standard dorms and off-campus apartments," he said.

This semester marks the opening of the Upper Eastside Lofts, offering off-campus loft-style apartments to Sacramento State students.

Located on Folsom Boulevard, the 10,000-square-foot property includes space for 450 student beds plus retail space on the bottom-floor.


Avi Ehrlich can be reached at aehrlich@statehornet.com

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