SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Cosumnes River College (CRC) student housing project likely won’t come to fruition until 2028.
In fall 2022, CRC announced plans for a 147-bed apartment complex near its main campus in South Sacramento, and approximately $44 million from the state would help fund the project. However, the school said the venture was put on hold when California approved its 2023-2024 budget.
“The state shifted the fund source for the newly authorized student housing construction projects from (the) state General Fund to local revenue bonds issued by community colleges,” Theresa Tena, CRC’s vice president of administrative services, wrote Tuesday in an email to ABC10. “This was a bit of a curveball — this change was not proposed or contemplated during the 2023-24 budget review process.”
Tena said the 2024-25 budget approval shifted the fund source from revenue bonds issued by community colleges to revenue bonds issued by the state of California, and with this change the Los Rios Community College District is able to proceed with the project.
It is now slated to open fall 2028.
The complex’s proposed site has moved to the college’s main campus due to its high costs and to save resources, according to CRC.
“We will receive $44 million — in a more complicated financial transaction,” Tena said.
The apartments would prioritize housing low-income students enrolled in at least 12 units per semester, the college said in 2022. Each unit will feature furniture, in-unit bathrooms, an internet connection, a kitchenette and all relevant utilities. Other features include informal student lounges and bike storage spaces, according to the school.
CRC is boxed in by Cosumnes River Boulevard, Center Parkway, and Calvine and Bruceville roads in the Sacramento city limits, though the community college is widely associated with Elk Grove as its campus sits roughly one mile away from the city’s northern border. CRC’s Elk Grove Center, which opened in 2013, operates along Big Horn Boulevard near the city’s southern boundary.
