More discussion and plans for the Ohlone College Newark Campus Housing projects continued during the last Ohlone College Board of Trustees meeting.
Documents from the board of trustees meeting on July 10, 2024 said the City of Newark requested the boundary of the Market Rate Housing Project be adjusted for better design and efficiency. A video stream of the board of trustees meeting showed the board approved the amendment.
The Market Rate Housing Project is different from the affordable student housing project being proposed on the Newark Campus. The proposed Market Rate Housing project consists of about 280 multi-family housing units which will be sold at market rate. According to Apartments.com, the average rent for an apartment in Newark, California is about $2,300.
Ohlone President Charles Sasaki said in an email interview the Market Rate Housing Project came to light as a way to generate revenue for the college. He also expressed that State funding for community colleges is diminishing. As a result, a portion of revenue made by the unsubsidized rent will go towards Ohlone College scholarships and programs.
The proposed housing also comes with environmental impacts that became a cause for concern. One speaker during the March 13, 2024 board of trustees meeting claimed the housing project may be underwater by a certain year because of sea level rise.
However, Sasaki said the multi-family housing project was part of a “land use covenant” due to soil contamination from historical uses. Sasaki said remediation of the area will be done at no cost to the college.
The market-rate housing project will be located behind the Newark Campus buildings on the South West Side of the campus between Mowry Avenue and Stevenson Boulevard. There are also plans to create an exit from the housing project towards Mowry Avenue so people living in the area don’t have to drive through the campus parking lots to get on Cherry Street.
Other environmental components are in the works for the Newark Campus Multi-Family Housing project. Vice President of Administrative and Technology Services Dr. Christopher Dela Rosa said during the July 10 meeting that the City of Newark had several suggestions for the Market Rate Housing project.
One was to add environmentally sustainable buildings to the project that can be connected to each other so there can be a walkability component. The other suggestion is for the project to show more of a connection to the college, instead of being a housing project that will generate revenue for the college. Dela Rosa said the college plans to work with its partners to add the environmental components to the project.
