Lake Tahoe Community College president presents 100‑bed affordable student housing as a model for California community colleges

Lake Tahoe Community College President Jeff De Franco onstage at a California Community Colleges conference described the college’s new 100‑bed student housing project and urged other community colleges to consider similar, student‑ready designs.

De Franco said the on‑campus building, which opened to students this fall after roughly two years from groundbreaking, provides primarily double‑occupancy rooms at about $500 per bed and a small number of single rooms that cost more. He said the project was funded in part through state support tied to the 2022 budget act and local partnerships and that accelerated scheduling and local environmental rules made delivery challenging but possible.

“It's not about bricks, it's about winning for students,” De Franco said, describing the facility as “a million‑dollar view for a $500 rent.” He framed the project as an effort to preserve access and completion for students in a housing‑constrained region of the Tahoe Basin.

Why it matters: De Franco positioned LTCC’s experience as a demonstration that community colleges can plan, fund and operate affordable student housing. He noted that some in Sacramento initially questioned whether community colleges were “ready” for this work; LTCC leaders lobbied for inclusion of eligible community college projects in the state budget and delivered the completed facility, he said.

Funding and politics: De Franco credited “the state Department of Finance, the Governor’s…