With the construction of La Playa residence hall, Long Beach State is producing the first affordable beds on campus.
La Playa Hall will add a total of 424 beds for student housing. This new addition will create opportunity for the university to offer 404 beds at an affordable rate to students for the first time.
According to the California 2023-2024 Budget for Student Housing, in order for housing to be considered affordable, the rent must not exceed 30% of 50% of an area’s median income.
Corry Colonna, executive director of Housing and Residential Life at CSULB, said that while there are currently dorms that are less expensive compared to others, none of them meet the threshold to be considered affordable by the state.
The rent for the new beds will be calculated to meet the state’s requirements.
The total cost of construction for La Playa is estimated at $155 million, according to the Beach Building Services website for La Playa Hall. According to Colonna, this cost is covered by funds and a loan which makes it possible for the housing to be affordable.
The construction will be partially covered by the $53 million Senate Bill 183 grant that CSULB was awarded. The purpose of this grant is for schools to use all the money to construct affordable housing if awarded.
The university’s housing reserve, an account used for housing needs, will cover $15 million of the construction. The rest of the cost will be covered by the Systemwide Revenue Bond. This is a low-interest bond that CSULB will have to pay back.
Colonna said the additional 20 out of the 424 beds that will not be affordable will be supplemental in paying off the bond.
“The goal is, over the next 30 years that the building will pay for itself or come near close,” Colonna said.
Although most of the new beds are going to be rented at a low cost, Colonna is confident that this will not affect the funds needed for custodial maintenance of the buildings.
According to the website for La Playa Hall, the affordable beds will not be solely confined to La Playa Hall due to the distributed-beds model.
Colonna said this was made possible after legislative approved the distributed-beds model proposed by CSULB.
This model means that not a singular residential hall will have a majority of rooms rented at an affordable rate or have substantially less funds than the rest. Colonna is confident that all halls will continue to have sufficient revenue to provide proper maintenance.
“It absolutely won’t have any effect on the student experience,” Colonna said.
Dani Mojonnier, a freshman that dorms at CSULB, believes creating affordable housing on campus is a good idea to house as many people as possible.
“It’s good to create access to housing for people who need it, but I do worry about people who may not qualify but are still struggling,” Mojonnier said.