Sac State leaves its commuter college identity in the past and builds for the future

As the sixth-largest campus in the CSU system, Sacramento State is experiencing record enrollment. The university embarked on an ambitious plan to develop multiple student housing developments through public-private partnerships, with an eye toward accommodating students from beyond the local market.

The 2015 Campus Master Plan laid out the importance of increasing and improving the campus’s upper-division student housing offerings. Sac State partnered with B&D to develop initial concepts and analyze financing options. The university decided to move forward with an apartment community of 1,000+ beds, delivered through a P3 equity structure with Greystar Real Estate.

B&D identified the critical path items and developed an adaptable schedule. As a result of this deliberate planning, it took just two years to get CSU Board of Trustees approvals on the ground lease, a process that typically takes much longer.

The $164M, 360,000-square-foot project will boast 1,100 new apartment-style beds in a mix of studio, two-, and four-bedroom units. Hornet Commons will be pedestrian-friendly and offer an affordable campus community to upper division students who want to stay close to the action. The project broke ground in 2019 and will open fall 2021.