$16.4-Million Sale of Bonds OKd for CSUN Dormitories

The sale of $16.4 million in bonds to finance construction of student dormitories at California State University, Northridge was authorized Wednesday by Lt. Gov. Leo McCarthy.

The dorms will be the first buildings in a $150-million development on the 100-acre North Campus site. CSUN, in conjunction with a private developer, plans to build residential, educational and commercial facilities in the area bounded by Devonshire and Plummer streets and Zelzah and Lindley avenues.

The added dormitories will double the on-campus housing available for CSUN students. University records show that the school now turns down three out of four applicants for campus housing because it only has 670 living spaces for an enrollment of about 30,000.

“We have always had a large number of students who want to live around the campus but can’t because we don’t have enough housing and some people won’t rent to students,” said CSUN spokeswoman Judith Elias.

Earlier this month, trustees of the California State University approved the sale of Housing System Revenue Bonds for construction of the dorms. The state Department of Finance and the state Board of Control supported the decision and forwarded the request to the governor’s office.

McCarthy signed the authorization in place of Gov. George Deukmejian, who is traveling in Japan. McCarthy’s signature, according to his spokesman, is not a signal that Deukmejian does not support the dorm construction. “Lt. Gov. McCarthy is only signing the authorization because the governor is out of the state,” said Rick Ruiz, a McCarthy aide.

Getting the bonds to market in a timely fashion was one reason McCarthy signed the sale order, Ruiz added.

The new dorms are to house 790 students. There will be 190 two-bedroom units and 10 one-bedroom units. The singles will be set aside for dorm supervisors and handicapped students, according to Elias. Plans call for housing to be in the area immediately south of Lassen Street, bounded on the east by Zelzah Avenue and the west by Lindley Avenue.

Once construction begins, CSUN officials estimate it will take at least a year before the first students can occupy the rooms.

Development of the North Campus was first announced in April, 1983, and is one of the first developments in California to combine private projects with a university capital-improvement plan.

Over the next 16 years, plans call for construction of a 17,500-seat athletic stadium, a 20,000-square-foot conference center, a 10,000-square-foot aerospace-advanced technology center and a 200-room hotel.

Proposals also call for a 10,000-square-foot art gallery, a 2,050-seat auditorium, a 500-seat theater and recital hall, a three-acre botanical garden and parking lots with a total of 5,200 spaces.