A new $123 million residence hall opened for the fall term on the campus of Orange Coast College (OCC) in Costa Mesa, California, providing state-of-the-art housing for students and non-students alike.
The new 321,105-square-foot residence hall is located on the college’s 164-acre campus, making OCC the first community college in Southern California to offer student housing.
The project was completed by Servitas, a real estate company known for building on-campus housing for colleges across the country. Servitas announced the opening on Sept. 25, just about two years after breaking ground in 2018.
The new building, called The Harbour, has 326 fully furnished apartments, complete with modern amenities. The apartments vary in size and price, from singles to four-bedroom suites, where individuals can form their own groups or be assigned with others.
Rent includes furniture, high-speed internet, and utilities. The residence also offers social spaces, quiet study areas on each floor, rooftop lounges, on-site laundry facilities, bicycle storage, courtyards, a community game room, and parking.
Though students receive priority, The Harbour also offers its 823 beds to non-students, when available. The Harbour is family friendly.
“The Harbour was created as a residential option primarily for students of the three schools in the Coast Community College District, with Orange Coast College students receiving placement priority, followed by students from both Coastline Community College and Golden West College,” according to OCC.
Instead of leases, the building’s tenants sign individual contracts, which have been designed with “student residents in mind.”
“Nonetheless, The Harbour is an Equal Opportunity housing provider and welcomes applications from both students and non-students, as well as students from other colleges or universities, subject to availability,” the website says.
The new residence aims to match student roommates successfully. Non-students will be assigned to available apartments “only with other non-students,” though exceptions will be allowed if all residents of an apartment are in agreement.
The construction of the building was completed amid challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic including a labor strike by unionized glaziers, according to Servitas. The project’s development team included Moss & Associates, HPI Architecture, MVE Architects, Design West Engineering, The Scion Group, Coastal Community College District, and Brailsford & Dunlavey.
According to its website, Orange Coast College is the top college in Orange County for transfers to the University of California and California State University systems. Enrollment for all programs averages around 22,000 students each semester.
Fall classes for 2020 are being held either completely online, or in a hybrid format that includes partial in-person learning, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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