Arlington Farm in West Davis could soon be expanding to house transfer students through UC Davis.
Located about two miles west of campus, the complex is popular with sophomores and has been referred to as “Farlington” because of its distance from school.
Though plans are not set in stone, the staff of UC Davis Student Housing is currently finalizing the master lease agreement with Tandem Properties, the owners of Arlington and property management of various complexes in Davis. This shared apartment housing would be available by the start of Fall 2011.
Since the 2009-2010 academic year, Student Housing has guaranteed one year of housing to incoming transfer students, either in residence halls or in off-campus apartments if the student meets all required campus deadlines.
Single transfer students under age 24 are offered a space in the residence halls, while those over 24 are placed in a single student apartment or are given assistance finding a place to live. Transfer students with dependents are offered single-family housing in complexes such as Orchard Park or Solano Park.
Currently, Student Housing offers apartment living to incoming transfers in the Single Student Apartment program. They provide shared apartment spaces at The Arbors and The Lexington on Olive Drive and at the on-campus Primero Grove.
Ramona Hernandez, associate director of UC Davis Student Housing, said there will be some changes in student housing this coming year.
“Student Housing will be using the Primero Grove apartments for incoming first-year students next year, so we revisited the original request for proposal, which asked for local apartment complexes to partner with Student Housing in providing apartment style housing. That is how we selected The Arbors, The Lexington and Primero Grove,” Hernandez said in an e-mail. “From this process, Tandem Properties was identified as another property management company that we partner with to provide transfer apartment housing.”
From Arlington, UC Davis would lease back 15 four-bedroom units, and 14 two-bedroom units, providing 88 bed spaces for incoming transfers. The transfer housing would fill 29 out of the complex’s 138 apartments.
Student Housing would furnish the new units, along with providing all utilities, except cable TV. The rent would be paid to the UC Davis housing department.
There are some who see flaws in UC Davis’ housing policy.
Victor Garcia, a senior biological sciences major and transfer student, first enrolled in UC Davis as a 30-year-old in Fall 2009. He now works as a peer adviser for the UC Davis Transfer Reentry Veterans Center. He said he feels a problem with transfer housing at UC Davis is misinformation about transfer housing.
“When I first came to orientation, I thought I had guaranteed housing,” Garcia said. “Student Housing simply referred me to apartments, so I had to settle with whatever was out there. I think Student Housing should at least be clear that transfer housing isn’t guaranteed to everyone.”
Nonetheless, Brenda Little, director of property management for Tandem, said the company is looking forward to the new transfer housing at Arlington.
“Arlington Farm has been focused on satisfying student housing needs for over 20 years,” Little said. “We are pleased to be a part of the university’s program to provide housing to incoming transfer students.”
ANGELA SWARTZ can be reached city@theaggie.org.
