The University of California San Diego has received approval from the Board of Regents to build one of the largest campus housing villages in the system’s history.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the 6,000-bed community, composed mostly of high-rise buildings, would cost $2 billion. The project is meant to ease a chronic housing shortage brought on by unprecedented enrollment growth and a shortage of affordable off-campus housing in La Jolla and University City.
Chancellor Pradeep Khosla says the village will eventually enable the school to offer four-year housing guarantees to undergraduates. Rents would be at least 20% below market value.
The plan calls for sandwiching the residence halls inside a 20-acre area between the school’s Blue Line trolley station and Interstate 5. Construction on the first 2,000 beds could begin as early as 2026.
About 22,000 students will live in university-owned campus housing this fall. But it isn’t keeping up with demand. Nearly 2,800 students are on waiting lists for housing.
Enrollment is expected to rise by 7,600 over the next 10 to 15 years, pushing UC San Diego past the 50,000 mark and creating more demand for housing.
