College now says pre-fab building to be ready for fall 2025; tiny houses to follow in 2026 ($27 million for possible Verde Campus capital improvement recommended by experts in 2022-23 cut to $2 million)
At its March meeting, the Yavapai Community College District Governing Board received an update on the College’s student housing expansion plans. Dr. Clint Ewell, Vice President of Finance and Administrative Services, reported that among the plans now moving forward, the College intends to construct a prefabricated building to accommodate 16 students as a pilot project on the Verde Valley Campus this summer. It will also locate several small houses built by students on the campus in spring 2026.
Dr. Ewell did not provide an updated specific cost estimate with details for the project, which was originally approved in May 2024. At that time, the planned pre-fabricated structure was expected to be approximately 3,000 square feet, with an estimated cost of $200 per square foot for purchase and installation—bringing the total to around $600,000. One suspects the additional funding stated in the revised budget of $2 million for Verde housing includes creating the infrastructure for the project.
At the March 2025 meeting Dr. Ewell indicated that the College had anticipated spending around $14 million for student housing on the Verde Campus back in 2022-23. (See his estimate below.) However, that figure dropped to $2 million, which was to cover the costs associated with the pre-fab apartment complex and the 10 student trailer park.
It is noteworthy that the College abandoned the $14 million housing project intended for the Verde Valley Campus, and dumped the previously approved $12 million Craft Brewing and Distilling program plus the $608,000 Commercial Driving program. The almost $27 million intended for these discontinued initiatives has apparently been redirected to support several newly approved, high-cost projects on the west side of Yavapai County on the Prescott Campus and Chino Valley Center. (Except for $2 million for Verde Housing).
You may view Dr. Ewell’s report on video below: