Micah Diaz’s life at Napa Valley College is wholesome and full. He has a robust group of friends and is active in extracurricular activities.

Much of this is possible, he says, because he lives at River Trail Village, the newly opened on-campus housing for students that is a rarity for community colleges in California.

The three-building, 280-unit, 588-bed housing complex located on the northern edge of campus opened in August and was officially inaugurated in September after being in the works for five years. River Trail Village made Napa Valley College one of only 14 community colleges in the state that offer on-campus housing.

“Moving here has been very peaceful for me,” said Diaz, who studies digital art, graphic design and art history. “ I lived in Angwin with my mom and I had to take a two-hour bus to get to college.

“Now, I don’t have to worry about getting home before the sun sets. I can be an active member of the Pride Club and hang out with my friends and I even have a place to just relax after class.”

As of October, River Trail Village had an occupancy of about 26% with 144 fully executed housing agreements in place and an additional 76 in progress.

The college is working on marketing initiatives to pull more residents in, and is already seeing interest from students and families for next spring, communications director Jenna Sanders said.

For the college, the hope is that River Trail Village will boost enrollment.

It also is an opportunity to intentionally develop programs that support students’ basic needs, Superintendent Torence Powell said.

“River Trail Village has given Napa Valley College the opportunity to grow in the support we provide our students now that we have students on campus 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said.

This includes providing meal deliveries four nights a week, increasing the number of mental health providers on campus, and partnering with Napa Valley Transit Authority to give students a low-cost bus pass with unlimited rides in Napa and Solano counties.

The college is also generating an ongoing speaker series for River Trail Village to help teach different skills that increase students’ chances of success on campus and in life, Powell said. The first one is a financial wellness training in November.

Although students are the priority, River Trail Village — which offers single- and double-residence hall units as well as furnished and unfurnished apartments — is also open to people affiliated with related institutions and community partners.

It has quickly become a site for public events open to the larger Napa community. In October, for example, River Trail Village hosted a Halloween celebration with costumes, games and candy that was open to the public and attended by several Napa families.

As he stood behind a curtain waiting to scare the next child that entered the Spooky Trail, Napa Valley College student and River Trail Village resident Andres Agustin Barrera told The Press Democrat, “I feel safe here.”

You can reach staff writer Tarini Mehta at 707-521-5337 or tarini.mehta@pressdemocrat.com. Reach Mehta on X (Twitter) @MehtaTarini.