Student housing on Allan Hancock College’s Santa Maria campus might not be an idea of the past anymore.
The Allan Hancock Joint Community College District Board of Trustees is planning to discuss the idea at its Sept. 16 meeting—or at least the possibility of hiring a consultant to look into the feasibility of the project.
In 2004, the board hired Capstone West Development, a company that specializes in student housing development, to conduct a survey on the feasibility of—and need for-student housing in the Santa Maria area. The survey found that there was a shortage of housing for students in the community, and that students were interested in applying for on-campus housing.
However, faced with community opposition to the project and the time-consuming campaign to pass Measure I (the $180-million general facilities bond that eventually passed in 2006), the board of trustees chose to put the on-campus housing project on hold.
Now, the board says it’s ready to give the project another look, according to Rebecca Alarcio, the college’s director of public affairs and publications.
“Possibility is a key word,” Alarcio said. “The board members are just finishing off what they started several years ago.”
Putting the housing project on hold back in 2006, Alarcio said, was the board’s way of separating the project and Measure I concepts.
“There was some confusion about Measure I funding the student-housing. It seemed to be not really clear to the public” and the board decided to remedy the problem by separating the two issues, Alarcio said.
However, putting the housing project on hold also nullified the results of the survey conducted by Capstone West Development.
As a result, the board has to “start afresh with new consultants and attorneys,” Alarcio said.
The board has yet to announce who—and if—it will hire to look into the feasibility of the project.
The board of trustees meets the third Tuesday of every month at the Allan Hancock College Santa Maria campus, located at 800 S. College Dr. in Santa Maria.
For more information about the college and the board of trustees, visit www.hancockcollege.edu.
This article appears in Sep 4-11, 2008.