The project includes a combination of single- and double-occupancy bedrooms with living space and a kitchen. The majority of the 208 units are two-bedroom, two-bath apartments.

"The project represents the benefits of a strong public/private partnership, and Pomona's Redevelopment Agency has been instrumental in the project's progression, along with the support of WesternU," said Robert Y. Kim, executive managing director of Irvine-based Hanover Pacific LLC, in a prepared statement. "The project will not only represent a significant investment in Downtown Pomona during a period of weak construction activity in California, but will also significantly contribute to the continued redevelopment of the downtown district."

According to David Senden, a principal with Irvine-based KTGY Group Inc. and the lead designer on the project, "The idea was to give the students a completely up-to-date, contemporary home base, while at the same time providing state-of-the-art academic uses and office spaces on the ground floor.”

Philip Pumerantz, president of WesternU, said that the new project not only will provide much-needed housing but also will be a recruitment tool to help attract students. “Furthermore, the project will help fill a gap in the market for higher-end graduate student housing," Pumerantz said. He called the project “a natural and commendable reflection of the development and growth of the university itself over the past several years.”