Results from a recent University Enterprises Inc. survey indicates strong support for the University Village on Ramona Avenue ?” a housing development that Sacramento State would sell or rent to faculty and staff at below-market rates.

The poll, which received 551 responses from 2,860 solicitations, revealed that 18 percent of faculty and staff survey respondents wanted to reserve a spot immediately, and 70 percent expressed interest.

The survey was conducted to help guide development of university-owned land that sits less than one mile south of campus, and was formerly used by the California Youth Authority.

Because of the high cost of housing in California, and the pay scales of the UC and CSU systems, several educational institutions are investing in this type of housing in order to help attract and retain faculty and staff.

Director of Project and Resource Development for University Enterprises Inc., Lisa R. Hall, said the land parcel, which is bordered by Folsom Boulevard and Power Inn Road, should provide 500 housing units ?” most likely single-family homes, duplexes, townhouses and condominiums.

Hall said that it is too soon to predict when breaking ground will occur at the Ramona Avenue site, but that the first occupants are expected to move in during 2009.

Assistant professor for the Communications Studies Department David Zuckerman said that the University Village project encourages him to stay at Sac State.

“My wife and I can’t really have anymore kids until we can live in a place big enough,” he said. “If that place isn’t here, and without affordable faculty housing it likely won’t be, then it will have to be some place other than Sacramento I’m afraid.”

According to the survey, 83 percent of respondents prefer homes between 1,200 and 2,600 square feet. However, Hall said such details will not be determined until after a developer is selected, which is the next step in the process.

Professor Ernest G. Olson, of the Recreation and Leisure Studies Department, said he generally supports the affordable housing concept, but sees a potential drawback to it.”An assistant professor at Sac State is salaried at around $50,000 and such a low salary makes it impossible to afford decent housing,” he said. In the survey, around 35 percent indicated that they earned less than $54,999.

However, Olson added that young faculty might teach only a short time at Sac State until finding a job at a university that pays a respectable salary ?” possibly creating a new class of road scholars.

Psychology professor George Parrott said he understands why new professors would be tempted to leave Sac State early in their careers.”Since I bought my house in 1969, salaries have increased only three-fold, while housing costs are sixteen-times higher,” he said. “So this housing complex would be a huge jewel for the university.”

Parrott, who recently was on the hiring committee for his department, said retaining and attracting faculty will become easier at Sac State once the University Village ?” which is expected to have a shuttle to campus, affordable child care and retail stores ?” is available.

Nevertheless, Parrott said the reluctance of state universities to increase salaries across the board is probably fueling the recent surge in university-headed housing construction.

Other public universities participating in this trend are UC Davis, UC Irvine, CSU Stanislaus and CSU Monterey Bay ?” the site where Sac State will visit to study its housing complex in the coming weeks, Hall said.

Monterey Bay’s housing development, situated on the old Fort Ord military base, has 700 houses that it rents to faculty and staff, and 66 units that are employee-owned, said Niraj Dangoria, associate vice president of campus development and operations at Monterey.Dangoria said that there aren’t any vacancies in the housing, and that the university is building new market-style housing for ownership, rather than converting smaller military-style housing, as was done in the past.

The possibility of owning a house for up to 50 percent less than area market prices have increased CSU Monterey Bay’s ability to entice and keep quality faculty and staff, Dangoria said. He cited a waiting list of 150 people as proof of the success and value of the program.

Should demand ever out pace the new housing accommodations at Sacramento State, the university will have to determine the criteria used to prioritize access, Hall said.

In addition to e-mail updates sent to interested survey respondents, Hall anticipates forming focus groups to gather further campus input during the progression of the University Village project.

Norm Erickson can be reached at [email protected]