The Lap of Luxery

With the booming demand for student housing in the area, some developers are turning to something new to lure in renters: "luxury" amenities.

When Conquest Student Housing opens its newest building, Tuscany, in August, more than 500 students will have the opportunity to live in a facility with a health spa and state-of-the-art fitness center touting individual plasma TVs.

"It's the most amenized, luxurious housing ever at USC," said Casey Smith, assistant manager for Conquest.

Quality amenities in the area have also become the motto for CDI Management Inc.

"I want to provide (tenants) more than they're paying for," said Harold Tennen, president of CDI. "If there's anything to be done in the building, we spare no expense."

Dowell Myers, professor of urban planning and demography, said additional developments are good for students and the community.

"The location near campus is an amenity by itself," he said.

USC students spread out citywide and do not concentrate their housing demand solely around campus, he said. But a housing shortage in general is backing students up toward campus.

"It's much preferable to have new housing develop around campus then have students travel long distances," Myers said. "More housing close to home here is a good thing."

Market shifts

Increased demand near USC is part of the larger housing demand in Southern California.

Housing has become more expensive in Southern California since 1992 or 1993 and there has been acceleration in recent years, said Raphael W. Bostic, associate professor and director of the Master in Real Estate Development program.

But this has simply been an acceleration of a longer-term trend, he said.

"It's happening rapidly, and it's happening in places that historically have not been part of that mix," Bostic said.

After the social disturbances resulting from the Rodney King trial, neighborhoods such as those around USC seemed less desirable, but higher housing prices throughout the region are leading people to less desirable places, he said. And this is driving up rent in the area because of the sudden demand.

The shift toward "luxury" housing in the area probably began near 2002 as an extension of downtown's condo and loft boom, Bostic said.

While downtown led the trend slightly, many people see USC as an extension of downtown, so the evolution to "luxury" in both areas has progressed together, he said.

The evolution is fully related to how expensive the whole region has gotten and how convenient it is to live in the area, he said.

But while there is demand for housing in the area, Bostic said he is unsure how strong the demand is for "luxury" accommodations.

"(Developers) are hoping that's what the demand is for. They're hoping they made a good bet," Bostic said. "It is an experiment. These people are taking a risk. And that's part of a business."

So what makes a facility luxurious?

"Anyone who's building a new project, they call it luxury housing," Myers said. "The real question is, are the bedrooms bigger?"

New appliances might not simply make something luxurious, he said.

"If it has a rooftop pool, then I'll be impressed," Myers said.

"I don't think a developer wants to build any more projects with amenities than necessary," he said.

But Tennen would disagree.

"The USC student is spending a lot of money to get a great education and there's no reason they shouldn't have great housing available to them as well," he said.

Living in luxury

CDI, which rents to about 170 students in eight buildings, seeks to go well beyond the minimum of providing adequate housing, Tennen said.

"We want it to be something you'll go 'wow'," he said.

The company began buying and refurbishing property in the area in April 2003 and started leasing that August. Among its better known properties are The Tower and Trojandale, both of which were remodeled by CDI.

The first questions asked when working on these properties, "is would we put our children in this building or would we live in this building?" Tennen said.

The materials CDI uses and the quality of construction are different, he said.

"Some landlords can slap a new coat of paint on and put in some new carpeting," he said.

But CDI seeks to go beyond that with granite countertops, new bathrooms, new kitchen appliances and stainless steel sinks.

"That, of course, requires an enormous amount of work," he said. "We put a lot of pride in it, a lot of passion in it."

In addition to "luxurious" physical structures, CDI focuses on transcending the landlord-tenet relationship.

"It's almost a parental relationship that the students have," Tennen said. "If they need something, we take care of it and help them."

Part of this is because of the USC students hired as on-site managers in each building, said Paul Tennen, executive manager of CDI and Harold Tennen's son.

"We like to go the extra mile and make them feel this is a student-run building," he said. "It allows us to get closer to what they need and what the want."

Natalie Beglau, a 2005 USC alumna and on-site manager of The Spot, said she loved CDI from the start because of the company's attitude.

When the mother of a USC student from Hong Kong called recently because