Community college district awards contract to break ground on districtwide student housing in spring
By Ana Mata/Daily Journal
The article below originally appeared in the San Mateo Daily Journal and is being reprinted with permission.
Districtwide student housing at College of San Mateo is inching closer to becoming a reality after the community college district’s Board of Trustees approved a $61.85 million contract with developers who intend to break ground in the spring.
The proposed housing facility will provide 316 beds to first-generation, low-income and housing-insecure students attending any of the three colleges within the San Mateo County Community College District.
Providing housing is just one of the many wraparound services the district looks to provide its students, board President Wayne Lee said.
“Our mission is student first,” Lee said. “We find that providing wraparound services helps students graduate, and housing is just one component, a very important one,” Lee said.
The contract was awarded to BHM Construction LLC, which has experience building university campus housing and proposed a contract for $6.3 million less than the construction cost estimate of $68 million, according to a staff report.
The district initially requested for state funding in 2023, and earlier this year was awarded just under $56 million to support the design and construction of student housing. The initial proposal proposed 310 beds but was able to increase slightly during the design period, according to a staff report.
In addition to the state’s funding, sourced by the Statewide Affordable Student Housing Program launched by the state’s community college office in 2022, the district will invest approximately $10 million into the project, according to a staff report.
At a town hall hosted by state Sen. Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, on Dec. 9, Chancellor Melissa Moreno said the student housing will provide another level of support that builds on that same mission of the district’s offering of Free College, and making higher education accessible to all.
“It’s going to allow for many of our students to be able to have a place to live,” Moreno said. “About 70% of students statewide are housing insecure, so this is a real problem, and we’re happy to build housing on our land at CSM to help our districtwide students.”
Of the 116 community colleges in California, only 16 currently offer on campus student housing.
The housing units will vary, ranging from semi-suite shared bedrooms to studio and four-bedroom apartments, according to the district. Rents will be affordable, Moreno said, and since the district owns the land it will be built on, the facility will be a “self-supporting program.”
“The students will benefit from very low rents and we will benefit from having the funding to bring in the supports, and support students in everything they need for their housing experience,” Moreno said.
Amenities for students are still being finalized, but Moreno said it may include a shuttle service to help students access their campuses if they’re attending Cañada College in Redwood City or Skyline College in San Bruno.