The university recently purchased a parcel of land which was formerly a California Youth Authority facility through University Enterprises, previously known as the CSUS Foundation, for $2.3 million.

Located less than a mile away from campus at Ramona Avenue, south of Folsom Boulevard, President Alexander Gonzalez said the university plans to develop 25 acres of land into “a walkable housing and retail development with 500 housing units for faculty and staff.”

The reason for the development is to provide affordable housing in order to recruit and retain staff and faculty.

“As the area’s housing costs continue to rise, this project will be key to recruiting and retaining the top-notch faculty and staff that Sacramento State needs,” Gonzalez said.

David Zuckerman, assistant professor with the department of communication studies, said he believes that the establishment of a “university village” will be beneficial for the university.

“Yes, it will absolutely help with recruiting,” Zuckerman said.

Zuckerman said that building a community for faculty and staff gives other instructors like himself an opportunity to obtain property while paying off their own loans and supporting a family. He also believes that the development could help in retaining faculty.

“It’s not just hiring them, it’s retaining them,” Zuckerman said.

“Because a lot of professors will take this job as their first job and realize it’s hard to live here and we lose a professor. We lose someone who knows our students and knows our town. So, the university loses.”

The development will also feature a daycare facility that will provide childcare services for faculty and staff members.

Zuckerman said he is grateful to have this kind of service. “That is a major issue,” he said, “because child care in Sacramento can cost as much as your rent per month.”

Cristy Jensen, chair of the Faculty Senate and professor of public policy and administration, said she also believes that this project promises to be valuable.

“This is a great opportunity for junior faculty to get into the housing market and of course helps to make it possible for us to attract and retain them as part of our faculty here at Sac State,” Jensen said.

“As we seek to strengthen our sense of community on campus, it’s exciting to imagine a university village with child care, transportation and shops so close.”

Other campuses have been developing the same kind of services for their faculty and staff, according to their Web sites. California State University, Monterey Bay, currently has 53 homeowners and 172 renters on their campus. University of California, Irvine, has established an on-campus residential community called “University Hills” that includes 738 homes and 140 rental units in forms of condominiums, town homes, duplexes as well as stand-alone homes.

Gonzalez said that the development of the university village could take three to four years to be completed.

Gonzalez said that University Enterprises is currently consulting local developers for potential apartment and condo leases to begin housing programs for faculty, staff and students.

For now, while construction for the new parking structure continues, the land will be utilized as overflow parking.

A shuttle will provide transportation from the parking lot at Ramona Avenue to Serna Plaza on the CSUS campus.

As parking becomes a major issue on campus, Gonzalez said he encourages students to consider alternative ways of transportation to the campus including car pooling and public transportation.More projects and construction are moving forward on campus to fulfill the plans of Destination 2010.

The goal is to make Sac State a premier metropolitan university and destination campus of the West.

Gonzalez said that the new year will be a busy one and that Destination 2010 will remain a priority.Julie Salonga, a transfer student in her first semester at Sac State, said that Destination 2010 will be worth it in the long run.

“I think it’s a great idea,” she said, “even if it means a lot of construction, because it will benefit future students and the school. By achieving a more modern, metropolitan atmosphere, the campus could bring even more diversity to the university.”

Nika Megino can be reached at [email protected]