The student housing inventory in Chico looks, to be kind, a little dated. Chico certainly hasn’t kept up with the times, whether it’s housing provided by university dormitories or by private apartment complexes.
Most student neighborhoods would look modern and hip in roughly 1970, but right now they look like a bulldozer would be the best remedy.
That’s what happened to the Walnut Grove Apartments on Nord Avenue, on the way out of town just past the Safeway complex. After deteriorating for years, they were razed to make room for a new complex that should be finished in time for the fall 2018 semester.
In a city with roughly 30,000 college students between Chico State University and Butte College, there’s still a lack of adequate rentals for students. The best way to remedy that is to rely on the private sector. The university does what it can. In fact, the nicest new large-scale project recently in Chico geared toward students was Sutter Hall on campus. The dorm opened in 2010 and houses 222 students. It immediately made the other dorms on campus appear to be antique.