e-mail this page
Printer Friendly Version

University Village—a concrete beginning

Ramona Avenue demolition makes way for the future home of 25-acre faculty and staff housing project.

The University Village is on track to provide faculty and staff with a place to call home that is also close to campus.

A new project manager has been hired to oversee the development of the faculty and staff housing project. Local architects Mogavero Notestine Associates have been hired for preliminary site planning and concept sketches, and Economic and Planning Systems are on track to release a feasibility study of the potential type, size and cost of the homes.

The 25-acre, Ramona Avenue site will eventually have several hundred new single- and multi-family homes, as well as parks and community facilities. Demolition of peripheral buildings occurred at the site at the end of January.

“A lot of planning and research has gone into the University Village project,” says Tim Dean, the new project manager for University Enterprises, Inc. “There were visits to CSU Monterey Bay, CSU Fullerton and UC Davis to review the faculty and staff housing on those campuses. We’ve had meetings with city, county, SMUD and AT&T engineers to determine capacity issues for utility services.”

“We’re also having ongoing discussions with the city and redevelopment agency staff regarding previously planned and new ideas for street improvements to integrate the site with the city and campus,” added Dean.

In addition, research is being conducted regarding “smart growth” neighborhood planning, sustainable “green” construction and transit-oriented development that would link the village to the University. Discussions are also underway with faculty about possible ways to utilize the village planning and construction activities as topics for classroom work.

“We’ll have recycling opportunities for the construction materials resulting in the demolition of heavy concrete buildings,” Dean says. For instance, he explained, the concrete will be crushed and used as aggregate-base rock under roads, slabs, pavement, curbs and gutters. The recycling will also eliminate the need for hundreds of truck trips to landfill, significant new gravel mining, and truck trips to deliver new material. The result is considerable cost savings and fulfillment of a major green construction strategy.

In addition, more than 550 faculty, staff and administrators participated in a survey assessing the needs and desires of those wishing to live in the housing village project. The survey followed on the heels of the transfer of the Ramona Avenue property from the California Youth Authority to Sacramento State in June 2005.

A village advisory group is in the formative stages. Faculty, staff, students and administrators—10 in all—will participate in the planning efforts for the village, particularly design issues, costs and eligibility requirements.

The University Village’s final development plan, building designs and the project’s environmental impact analysis is scheduled to be ready in late 2008. The first houses should be occupied before the end of 2009.

For more information visit www.enterprises.csus.edu or contact University Enterprises, Inc. at 278-7001.

Media assistance is available by contacting the Sacramento State Public Affairs office at 278-6156.