FRESNO, Calif. (FOX26) — A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Tuesday to open the new affordable student housing project at Fresno State.
Students and parents were able to tour the facilities, which offer a gym and public area with a pool and air hockey.
The facilities are located at the corner of Shaw and Cedar Avenues.
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Fresno State President Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval was joined by Fresno City Councilman Tyler Maxwell, Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Phong Yang, Sophia Oviedo, a representative from the Residence Hall Association, and Alya Hassan, President of the Associated Students, Inc.
“Today we inaugurated the first affordable student housing in over 50 years at Fresno State, said President Jiménez-Sandoval. “This is the first new housing development since the 1960s.”
After the COVID pandemic, I realized that housing was more expensive for our students and that housing had become a challenge to our students more and more, and that’s the moment in which we aggressively went after funding for this building.
“We are planning more of the housing. We’re exploring more of the housing because this is not enough. We have less than 2,000 beds on campus. So that’s going to be one of my main projects in the coming years,” said President Jiménez-Sandoval.
The new dorms are the first major housing initiative at Fresno State since 1968. The new building adds 228 apartment-style beds — including family units with two bedrooms, kitchen, and living room — to the portfolio for Fresno State Student Housing.
The project is being funded by an affordable student housing grant from the state ($33.7 million) and $20 million of financing funded through California State University systemwide revenue bonds that will be the responsibility of the California State University, Fresno Association, Inc. (Student Housing) to repay over the life of the bonds.
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