September 29, 2005
By Pamela McLaren

Four years ago, Cal State Fullerton entered the real estate business with its first successful affordable housing development, University Gables. But few on campus may realize that behind the development is a group of individuals that has been working for years to bring about Gables and soon, University Heights.

The CSUF Housing Authority — formalized in 2000 — is made up of student, campus and community members who have been gathering on a regular basis, reviewing property, making presentations and attending city council and other municipal meetings — all with the goal of generating affordable faculty-staff housing.

Donald Crane, professor of finance and a member of the teaching faculty since 1976, has been involved in such an effort since the early 1990s. Crane, who teaches business finance, investments, retirement and estate planning, has served as chair of the Housing Authority and its predecessor, the Affordable Housing Task Force, since the early days.

“Our first real attempt was a piece of property in Carbon Canyon,” he says. “We worked on that project for about three years. Then, in the last minute, we got aced out of the project. I believe it was because the market got hot again.”

It was only the first of several such efforts. Crane remembers that there was a great deal of activity in those days but not much that was bearing fruit. “We scoured literally hundreds of pieces of property trying to find something. When you have no land and no money, it’s very hard to build houses,” he says. “In essence, we were trying to make a sale on the name and reputation of the university.”

That all changed when the CSUF Foundation (now Auxiliary Services Corp.) and the Housing Authority connected with the city of Buena Park.

“Bill [Dickerson, executive director of the housing authority and ASC], Conrad [Sick of Valeo] and Courtney [Caldwell, housing consultant] worked very hard to get that deal,” Crane remembers. “It didn’t seem to be a perfect location because it was near railroad tracks and a busy street, but now its very attractive because it is adjacent to Amerige Heights and the new shopping center.”

That deal showed local cities and property owners that the university was serious about affordable housing and could put a successful deal together. The land for University Gables, eight acres at the corner of Malvern Avenue and Dale Street, was sold to CSUF for $1 by the city of Buena Park after the county deeded it to the city for affordable housing. Today, there are 36 town homes and 50 detached homes on the property.

“Then we heard about the Fullerton Elks property. It took three years to get city council approval and there were incredible problems along the way,” says Crane, giving a lot of credit to Dickerson and his staff. “I admire people who are doing the hard work of negotiations, schedules, analysis, budget. My part [as chair and faculty representative] is easy compared to their efforts.”

The deal with the Fullerton Elks property is very different from University Gables. The CSUF Housing Authority will acquire approximately three acres of land and in return the Elks will receive funding to build a new 13,000-square-foot lodge, valued at approximately $3 million, adjacent to the development. The Elks also will receive ongoing payments from the authority over a 99-year period to pay for the remainder of the land’s fair market value.

“Each project is unique in its potential, problems, approval and process,” says Crane. “One of the most important things is to make sure that the people involved believe in the project.”

Construction for University Heights, a development of 42 houses on a three-acre parcel adjacent to the Fullerton Elks Lodge, is set to begin in October with completion scheduled for December 2006.

Today, the authority is looking at several properties as potential future sites. “We can’t rest,” says Crane. “We need to work toward the next project because we know it’s going to take three to five years to bring to fruition.”

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