March 28, 2024 Your Source for Brentwood News

Santa Monica College Investigating Options to Build Housing for Poor and Unhoused Students

Bundy campus eyed for potential project

By Dolores Quintana

Santa Monica College is considering building student housing for low-income and unhoused students. 

The proposed housing for low-income and unhoused students could be built next to the College’s Bundy campus on the border the city shares with Los Angeles as reported by The Santa Monica Lookout. SMC is conducting a feasibility study for a potential 275-bed housing unit that “would ideally [be] fully furnished with all utilities included.” in a parking lot near the edge of the campus. 

Funding for the project would come from matching funds in the current California budget reserved for housing grants for students in the California State University, University of California and California Community College educational systems. SMC has launched a survey to test the community’s support for a potential bond measure to fund this project, renovate a 50-year-old vocational building and refurbish the college’s nursing and healthcare instructional wings among other upgrades that the school has “real needs” said college officials as quoted byThe Santa Monica Lookout.

Don Girard, SMC Vice President said, as quoted by the Lookout, “We have a large number of students who are experiencing homelessness or threatened by it. After all, we are a community college: we are the affordable gateway to higher education. Lots of our students are single parents, foster kids and students who have to support themselves at a very young age. We have the opportunity to explore housing these vulnerable students on land we already own, just outside the city limits in LA. Of course we have to explore that.”

6,590 SMC students would qualify for this housing which is reserved for low income students who take a minimum of 12 units per semester and all of those units have to qualify as applicable to a degree. Students who are accepted into the housing program would live there for a full academic year, as long as they continue to take classes. To extend their stay past their first year, students would be required to “”demonstrate compliance with the minimum average unit enrollment requirements.” as quoted by The Santa Monica Lookout. Additionally, “If the College deems a student to demonstrate an exceptional circumstance, SMC is committed to negotiating and/or reducing the minimum credit load requirement temporarily.”

The feasibility study would start in March and be paid for by a $60,000 grant from the state of California according to the Santa Monica Lookout quoting a memo sent by SMC President Kathryn E. Jeffrey. The memo, sent on Oct. 27, 2021, also states “If the proposed planning grant is approved and a student housing project is determined to be feasible and financially viable, the next steps for SMC will be to determine a size and site location for the proposed student housing facility.”

The grant proposal proposes “an underused parking lot which accounts for most of a 10.4-acre satellite campus” as the future site of the housing program. Should the study find the project “feasible” Jeffrey’s memo adds that SMC requests additional funding in the amount of $2.47 million “to complete other planning activities prior to construction.”

If the project gets the green light, it would still take roughly 14 months to design the housing structures and another 20 to 24 months for construction. Jeffrey’s memo, as quoted by the Santa Monica Outlook said that would end up “resulting in building occupancy by the first quarter of the 2027 calendar year.”

Related Posts

Cantonese Dim Sum Master Chef Tony Opens Hollywood Dim Sum at TCL Chinese Theatre

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Experience Exquisite Dim Sum Creations in the Heart of Hollywood 97 years after its founding, the TCL Chinese Theatre will...

Fleurs et Sel Bakery Opens Storefront in West Adams, Welcomes Customers Three Days a Week

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Indulge in Freshly Baked Cookies at the New West Adams Location Fleurs et Sel Bakery, known for its delectable cookies...

Easter Specials Guide: Brunch Spots, Desserts, and More in West Los Angeles

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Discover the Best Easter Eats and Treats in LA for Your Holiday Celebration Easter is almost here, so here are...

(Video) Director Adam Wingard Talks About His Influences While Making GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Director Adam Wingard Talks About His Influences While Making GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE at the Beyond Fest Screening...

Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren Headlines Stand with Israel Luncheon

March 27, 2024

March 27, 2024

Distinguished Statesman Shares Insights on Israel’s Future  In Brentwood, one of Israel’s most distinguished statesmen, Ambassador Michael Oren, a diplomat...

Attorney for Sean “Diddy” Combs Denounces Investigation as “Witch Hunt”

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

Legal Representative Criticizes Probe Amid Federal Sex Trafficking Inquiry An attorney representing Sean “Diddy” Combs criticized the investigation into the...

Historic Union Contract Ratified by Thousands of Hotel Workers At 34 Hotels

March 26, 2024

March 26, 2024

UNITE HERE Local 11 Negotiates Agreement Ensuring Wage Increases  Hotel workers, who spearheaded the largest hotel strike in modern U.S....

Human Rights Campaign’s Los Angeles Dinner Celebrates LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Unity

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Notable Figures Gathered to Champion LGBTQ+ Rights and Combat Discrimination By Aneesha Pappy  The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s...

California Bars and Nightclubs Must Offer Drug Testing Devices Starting July 1

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

New Law Mandates License Holders to Provide Drug Testing Kits to Patrons Beginning July 1, establishments with Type 48 licenses...

Opinion: West Los Angeles Needs to Care about Veteran Homelessness

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

By Kelly Kravchuk  Veteran homelessness is a public health concern that impacts my West Los Angeles community. As a USC...

Brentwood Library Schedule of Events For This Week Includes New Initiative

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Storytime, STAR Reader Sessions, and Kindergarten Prep Activities Scheduled events for this week at the Brentwood Library include Toddler/Preschool Storytime...

Federal Agents Raid Property Linked to Music Mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs In Holmby Hills

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

Authorities Conduct Searches in Los Angeles as Part of Ongoing Sex Trafficking Probe Federal agents from the Department of Homeland...

Biden Signs Government Funding Bill with Ban on Pride Flags at Embassies

March 25, 2024

March 25, 2024

White House Vows Repeal Amid Controversy Over LGBTQ Provision President Biden signed a huge government funding package on Saturday, which...

City of Los Angeles Pays Nearly Half a Billion in Liability Claims Over Four Years

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

LA Controller’s Report Reveals Significant Payouts from General Fund LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia has continued to audit the City...

Infamous Beverly Hills Mansion Where Menéndez Brothers Committed Murders Sells for $17 Million

March 24, 2024

March 24, 2024

Notorious Property Closes Deal Exactly 28 Years After Conviction A mansion in Beverly Hills, California, notorious for being the site...