Construction of Napa Valley College’s 588-bed student housing hits halfway mark

Construction of Napa Valley College’s 588-bed student housing complex is about halfway complete.

Located just north of campus, the three-building River Trail Village is slated to be finished in about a year, officials said. Once construction wraps, the college will be among fewer than 20 of 116 community colleges in the state to offer student residences.

Jim Reeves, the college’s assistant superintendent and vice president of administrative services, said the project is on track to be completed for the 2024-25 school year. That’s despite several work stoppages earlier this year due to rainstorms.

Construction began about 11 months ago, and by the time a groundbreaking ceremony was held two months later, the site had already been leveled into a construction-ready field of dirt.

Speakers at the groundbreaking, held Sept. 21, 2022, talked about how the complex would benefit students — a project aimed to provide affordable living as local rents rise and to attract new students amid the college’s declining enrollment.

Torence Powell, the school’s superintendent and president, said at the time the housing — which will be offered below market-rate costs — represented a major effort to help cover students’ basic needs.

It marked an important step toward providing stability for students to focus on academics, he said.

“Research consistently shows the correlational impact housing and food security have on student success,” Powell said during the groundbreaking.

“Students are more likely to be successful and complete college when they live on campus, particularly when their campus experience builds learning relationships and encourages student engagement.”

On July 10, those words were reiterated during a “topping-out” ceremony held by the college to celebrate the work of about 150 construction workers and other staffers.

The housing’s affordability for low-income students — who make up about 40% of the student population — remains a major focus of the project, Reeves said Monday.

That affordability is set to be bolstered by $31 million from California’s Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program.

Though monthly rental prices have yet to be released, school representatives previously estimated rent could start at about $600 per month.

Students generally can’t afford to live in Napa, Reeves said, an area with high rents and low apartment availability. Monthly rent in Napa County averaged about $3,118.20 from January to May, according to the most recent data from real estate company Zillow.

As a result, many students commute to the school from nearby communities — adding the burden of travel.

School officials also hope having on-campus housing will help boost the school’s declining enrollment, which college officials previously said was partially a result of housing insecurity.

There were 4,021 full-time students enrolled at the college during its 2020-21 school year, according to data from the school. Enrollment then dipped a year later to 3,509 students.

In a further decline, the total dropped to 3,073 enrolled students in 2022-23.

The school anticipates the number of students enrolled in the upcoming 2023-24 school year to be comparable to the most recent year.

River Trail Village will, in theory, offer a greater chance for students to become connected to the school and one another, as well as the rest of Napa County, Reeves said.

That, in turn, would allow students a greater chance to take part in Napa’s local industries and potentially improve the college’s connection with the larger community.

“I think Napa has a great opportunity to be viewed as a destination for students,” Reeves said.