Cerritos College excitedly announced a new student housing project after Governor Gavin Newsom signed SB 155 – which grants money to community colleges for affordable housing developments that serve their students.
After finding out about this bill, Cerritos College attended many meetings, aiming to be one of the 13 community colleges that receive funds for student housing – the college will receive 68 million dollars for this new project.
Even though this might seem like a new project to some, Cerritos College has already seen success in off-campus housing, with the first ever California housing development in a community college called the Village.
The college hopes to continue its success as, after opening the Village in 2020, students in the project produced higher GPAs and completed programs faster than their peers.
When asked about the start day of building this new on campus housing, the director of Physical Plant & Construction Services, Anthony Parker, said, “Pending dates we would like to start in 2025…completion should take around 24 months.”
Parker also said this project will most likely be built in the college’s parking lot 7. The plan right now is for the dorms to be three stories tall and three different buildings which consist of 26 studios, 62 doubles and 11 four-bedroom apartments.
This totals to around 318 beds, or students served, for this project – however, the college’s board of trustees still needs to vote to approve this plan.
Students seem very excited for this new project.
Ethan Aranjo, a 17-year-old freshman, said, “I feel like it is really cool, I’ve lived in the area a lot and I always saw it as a little community college, but knowing it is growing and getting dorms that is really cool.”
Also Brieseis Rodriguez, an 18-year-old freshman, said, “I think it is really good news because there are a lot of people who are looking for a house and trying to be more independent and I think Cerritos would be a good opportunity to have that.”
According to Cerritos College, it is an exciting opportunity for Cerritos students, especially for those who must use public transportation, as Cerritos College serves multiple big cities such as Long Beach, Paramount, Lakewood and Downey.
According to the L.A. Times, It has been said by many people that Los Angeles public transportation is one of the worst. Many times buses and trains become delayed due to heavy traffic this affects students who are trying to reach class on time.
Students who live in the dorms will no longer have to worry about issues with commuting to campus. Beyond just commutes, the proven benefits to student mental health, GPAs, success rates and a greater likelihood of transferring to a four-year institution will be critical to their success moving forward.
Cerritos College also plans to build a new stadium and a new police station.
