Layla Abbas
LV Life Editor
La Verne Landing Apartments, a 38-unit apartment complex opening fall 2019, will have studio, 2-bedroom and 3-bedroom layouts with a kitchen and will not include resident assistants or mandatory meal plans.
The to-be furnished apartment complex, located on the northwest corner of First and G Street, is advertising to students particularly from University of La Verne, Cal Poly Pomona and the Claremont Colleges, citing its proximity and amenities to local college students, who are seeking additional housing options.
Candice Bowcock, senior planner at the city of La Verne, said they are also catering to the high-density population the Goldline station will soon attract.
The Old Town La Verne Specific Plan requires at least 15 percent of units within all residential developments in Old Town cater to the varied incomes of La Verne residents.
For the proposed development, six affordable units are required, which two have to be very low-income based.
Jose Estrada, resident of La Verne, lives across the street from the apartments and said no one notified the residents of the new establishment.
Estrada has a 3-year-old daughter with a brain tumor and is worried for her health once the apartments start filling up with residents.
He said that he has already had problems with students smoking near his house and since the complex is advertising themselves to student populations, he has some concern.
“We do not really want any trouble here,” Estrada said. “If we have to deal with drugs or smoking, my daughter cannot stand that so we do not know how the students will affect the community.”
Estrada said he wishes a park for children could have been built instead of an apartment complex.
Eugene Shang, director of residence life and student conduct, said he does not mind contractors building apartments to attract students because it is their business.
“What we are supposed to do at the University and our mission is different,” Shang said. “I do not worry about off campus housing as long as we are doing what we are supposed to do.”
Shang said the resident assistants at the University are mental health first aid trained and serve an important purpose.
“I think they look at resident assistants as policy enforcement, but there is community development and relationship building that goes with it,” Shang said. “People will keep an eye on each other kind of a thing. We are very student focused and not just in terms of here is a place to live but what does it mean to live here and what is the experience going to be like.”
Shang said not including a meal plan may be more affordable at the apartments, but hopes students feel more value in what they are paying now that the new dining hall, the Spot, is open.
“I know meal plans are expensive, but I think it offers convenience and you do not have to make your food,” Shang said. “Everything is made from scratch and now there is more variety in the vegan/vegetarian option.”
Shang said the missions at apartments and the University vary and it just depends on what each person is looking for.
Layla Abbas can be reached at layla.abbas@laverne.edu.
