New Mixed-Use Housing Will Focus on Socializing Grad Students

by Katie Sloan

Pomona, Calif. — Public-private partnership between Hanover Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences and the city of Pomona to provide 306 beds for graduate students.

The 306-bed new housing under construction at WesternU will be built to LEED Silver specifications.Pomona, Calif. — Architecture and planning firm KTGY Group and private developer, Hanover Pacific are building a mixed-use, 173,000-square-foot graduate student housing community adjacent to the campus of Western University of Health Sciences (WesternU), a private, non-profit graduate school for health professions. The four-story mixed-use development in downtown Pomona will provide 306 beds along with approximately 10,000 square feet to be used by WesternU as faculty offices. The 3.6-acre project is a public/private partnership with the City of Pomona, the Vehicle Parking District, and Hanover Pacific, along with the support of WesternU. The project will be complete by fall 2014.

Designed to LEED Silver specifications, the new graduate student living community includes a combination of single- and double-occupancy bedrooms with living space and a kitchen. The majority of the 202 units are two-bedroom, two-bath apartments and will be located in a single building with controlled access. Amenities include a fitness center, community pool, media room and valet services.

“Rather than a ‘rec center,’ we have created a large hotel-style lobby designed to function like a coffee shop, where students can hang out or study,” says David Senden, a principal with Irvine-based KTGY Group, Inc. and the lead designer on the project. “This is a different approach from a rec center, which is seldom used by the grad students. This space allows grad students, who are in highly rigorous academic programs, to socialize or to study by themselves in a public environment. This connection to others within the lobby area can alleviate the sense of isolation that is typical in rigorous graduate programs.”

 

You may also like