LACCD to Add Student Housing
The Los Angeles Community College District moves forward with plans to acquire or build housing for its students.
The Los Angeles Community College District has moved forward in a major effort to address Los Angeles’ student housing crisis after two of three requests for proposals were recently released.
“It is no secret that we are going through a housing crisis here in California, as well as an affordability crisis just across the state,” Sara Hernandez, vice president of the board of trustees at LACCD, said. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to buy a home or pay rent in Los Angeles and we’re seeing that across the board with our students.”
Made up of nine local campuses, plus one satellite campus, LACCD is one of the largest landlords in Los Angeles. The school district serves approximately 200,000 students – many of whom are first-generation, low-income, racially minoritized and formerly homeless individuals – but, to date, has never offered full-time housing.
“Housing is not just a housing issue,” Hernandez said. “It’s a basic needs issue. It’s an enrollment issue. Our students can’t enroll in our schools if they can’t afford to live here – it’s a transfer and completion issue.”
Recognizing the demand for more student housing, LACCD said it allocated $500 million in its last construction bond, Measure LA, which passed in 2022, but is just now becoming accessible via the RFP process. Click here to read full article
