Many guests gathered on campus to watch and participate in the groundbreaking of La Playa Hall on March 28. The soon-to-be residency hall is the latest affordable housing project on campus.
According to a press release shared by the campus, the new 4,200-square-foot residency hall will provide 424 beds to students, 404 of which will be reserved for students in need of affordable housing.
Corry Colonna, Executive Director of Housing and Residential Life, states the construction will start in June and is expected to end by June 2026. The hall will be move-in ready by the start of fall 2026.
The press release also states that La Playa Hall is being built under the Long Beach Housing Promise and Senate Bill 183, which aims to provide as many students with affordable housing.
As stated in the press release, the new housing development will cost $115 million, but $53 million will be covered by the “Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program” established by Senate Bill 183.
Colonna said Long Beach State (CSULB) was one of seven California State University (CSU) campuses selected for the program.
Colonna said there has been an increased necessity for affordable housing at CSULB since waitlist numbers for low-cost housing continue to rise and that since his first summer working as Executive Director of Housing and Residential Life at CSULB, the waitlist has grown by the hundreds.
“It was 117 on the waitlist in 2017, my first summer, and last year we were close to 1,700 on the waitlist,” Colonna said.
The press release states that the layout of La Playa Hall will be comprised of three buildings that will be connected by bridges.
A kitchen will sit on the ground level of every building and two offices for Student Counseling and Psychological Services will be added to the hall.
A multipurpose/tutoring room and music practice rooms will also be an addition to the complex.
Dganit Shtorch, project manager, and Yan Krymsky, lead designer, for Perkins & Will Architecture said that preserving outdoor space was a priority for them. They said they hope that it will provide a space for students to come together.
According to the CSULB Beach Building Services website, a distributed-beds model will used for the new complex. This means that the number of beds that are being created for low-income students will not be confined to one singular building.
Colonna said students will be able to choose which residency hall to dorm in at the same affordable cost.
He said this strategy protects the identity of low-income students, stops a residency hall from being labeled the affordable housing department and allows students the freedom to create the most ideal housing experience.
“The student will be able to just live like anyone else does and not have any status, which is super important,” Colonna said.
La Playa Hall is the most recent effort to provide students with affordable housing and there are hopes to continue the progress, Colonna said.
“Addressing the housing issue is a priority for the CSU Board of Trustees,” Wenda Fong, a member of the CSU Board of Trustees, said at the ceremony.