CSUS' lofty digs are a suite deal

Friday was move-into-the-dorm day for Sacramento State students, the annual unloading of comforters, lamps and laptops from mom and dad's car.

But this year something is different: the 450-bed Upper Eastside Lofts. A departure from the usual Sacramento State dormitory housing, the new lofts are part of a national trend toward more comfortable college digs.

Amenities include kitchens with granite countertops and stainless steel appliances, high ceilings and balconies.

On order are 42-inch plasma flat-screen televisions for each unit.

Jay Jennings, 19, a sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., attending California State University, Sacramento, on a baseball scholarship, said Friday that he's looking forward to the new TV.

"I checked out this place Wednesday," he said. "After living in the regular dorm last year, this is a real upgrade. The three-bed dorm room I lived in was real tight, didn't have as much privacy and there was one shower for the whole floor -- must have been 40 guys."

Tony student housing is a topic of conversation nationwide, said Connie Carson, past president of the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International.

"Not everybody is doing it, but everybody is talking about it," she said. "It's really about making a place more comfortable for a student so it feels more like home."

She said students do better academically if they have a significant on-campus experience. And after graduating, they connect better long-term with the university, Carson said.

Dennis McCauliff, regional vice president of one of the nation's largest for-profit student housing companies, agreed that loft-style student housing is becoming more popular.

McCauliff, who works for American Campus Communities of Austin, Texas, said loft-style student housing doesn't work well with the traditional assignment process where students don't meet their roommates until they move in.

"It has to be targeted to people who know each other," he said. "If you have people who are comfortable with each other, it is a really cool floor plan."

Julianne Sloan, 18, an incoming freshman from Roseville, unpacked her dishes Friday and moved in her own bed and an armoire even though the lofts are furnished.

"I was ready to move out and be on my own," she said. "I toured the place multiple times. All the floor plans are great -- it's just beautiful, clean space."

She decided against college's traditional dorms, saying they were cramped. Growing up, she never shared a bedroom.

So the lofts -- even though she will have a roommate -- give her more living space. And she likes the idea of cooking her own food.

The rates for the lofts, which are just off campus, are $499 a month for a unit with four beds, $579 for three beds, $679 for two beds and $969 for a private loft.

Situated next to the light-rail line and within walking distance of the campus at 65th Street and Folsom Boulevard, the lofts were initially planned with the young, urban professional in mind.

But then University Enterprises, an auxiliary of Sacramento State, signed a 15-year lease with a private company for the nearly finished complex.

"It's a mix between a dormitory and an apartment," said Matthew Altier, executive director of University Enterprises.

Not all of the units have been leased out, Altier said, in part, because University Enterprises didn't have enough time to adequately market the lofts this year.

About 72 leases with students had been signed and 20 are pending.

Sacramento State is trying to shed its image as a commuter campus and make the university into more of a live-in campus, adding hundreds of residential rooms, including the lofts.

The college still has decades-old dorms, the type of residential halls where shower sandals are a good investment.

A recent study for the university revealed that the college could support 2,600 additional beds.

A $55 million, four-story housing complex on the northern side of campus should be ready for students by fall 2009.

Cynthia Cockrill, director of housing and residence life at the university, said the new project will be a "suite style" complex.

Many of the suites will have two bedrooms and two baths, occupied by four people. Other units will be five-bedrooms, two-baths, occupied by five people.

The traditional residence halls, built in 1959 and 1974, meet the needs of the first-year student, she said.

"First year, living in the halls, they figure out who is a good person to live with," she said. "We see the new housing project as providing that privacy that the older student needs."

McCauliff was, until recently, area manager of Vista del Campo on the campus of the University of California, Irvine. Vista del Campo has full kitchens, living rooms and an occupancy rate of about 98 percent.

"That housing is for non-freshman," he said. "Traditional residence halls are not suitable for most students after the freshman year. After the first year, students want independence.

"And communal bathrooms, to the extent that colleges can replace them, are being replaced."

From the balcony of his new loft room at Sacramento State, Jonathan Routson-Thomas, 21, has a view of the swimming pool and the light-rail line.

Routson-Thomas said he likes the location with nearby restaurants, an Office Depot, Starbucks and a short bike ride to the campus.

His mother, Creeky Routson, said her son's room strikes a balance.

"He will have roommates but it is not too dormlike," she said. "It is a good combination between apartment and dorm."

About the writer:

• The Bee's Bill Lindelof can be reached at (916) 321-1079 or blindelof@sacbee.com.