On Jan. 31, Scripps College Residential Life announced that the school planned to demolish the 240 House in the coming academic year and replace it with a new Scripps dance building. In an email sent to all Scripps students on March 24, the Residential Life team said that students should prepare for limited housing availability.
The 240 House is an on-campus housing option for Scripps students; it is unique in that it is a house with multiple bedrooms and shared bathrooms, as opposed to the traditional college residence hall. The house offers living situations for up to twelve students at a time.
In their email, Scripps Residential Life warned that students seeking housing next year may be involuntarily placed in off-campus, school-sponsored housing such as the Claremont College Apartments (CCA).
“Please start considering multiple backup options for housing selection next year, as the 240 House will be offline and bed availability will be limited,” the email wrote. “Planning ahead will give you the best chance of securing housing that meets your needs.”
In an email statement to TSL, Josh Reeder, executive director of facilities management and auxiliary operations at Scripps, said that the 240 House is being removed to build new academic buildings.
“Replacement beds are being pursued to offset the loss of beds, which will be in place for students for fall semester 2025,” Reeder wrote.
It remains unclear how and where these replacement beds will be put in place.
Maya Gutmann SC ’27 lived in the 240 House last semester and said that she was sad to see it go. She added that its location on the edge of campus offered residents a blend of residential and collegiate living.
“It’s really devastating,” she said. “The girls that I was living with were planning on trying to live in it again their senior year and I was really excited for that.”
While she is disappointed that the 240 House will no longer be available as a housing option, Gutmann said that she understands Scripps’ motivations.
“It’s surrounded by parking lots and so it’s a bunch of underutilized space … It makes sense that they want to develop it,” she said.
Some students expressed concern about Scripps offering CCA as an alternative housing option, citing the impracticality of living off campus.
Talent Johnson SC ’27 currently lives in CCA. Located near the Claremont Botanical Garden, the apartments are around a 15-minute walking commute from the center of the 5Cs.
“I went on the housing portal at my time and no housing slots were available — so I was on the waitlist the entire summer and I didn’t know where I was gonna stay — and then they randomly gave me a spot around early August and I had a spot in CCA,” Johnson said, recalling her experience securing housing for this year.
Johnson added that off-campus living is a very different experience from living on campus.
“I feel really isolated from my friends and I had to put in a lot of work, especially if you don’t have a car,” Johnson said. “The shuttle is inconsistent so you have to get your own methods of transportation, like a scooter or a bike.”
Study abroad students have also faced difficulties receiving housing on campus, according to Gutmann. She said she is nervous that she might end up being placed in CCA after her study abroad due to housing shortages.
“I’m really hoping that doesn’t end up happening,” she said. “It’s largely out of my control at this point just because Res Life has said that they’re not going to release any information for us until, like, October. So at this point, I’m just kind of trying to relax and not stress too much about it.”
Housing selection is set to come out in the coming weeks for all of the 5Cs. With the 2025-2026 enrollment numbers still unknown, Residential Life has warned Scripps students to prepare to be placed in alternative housing.
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