UC San Diego received permission from University of California regents Thursday to build one of the largest campus housing villages in the system’s history, a 6,000-bed community mostly composed of towering dorms.
The $2 billion proposal 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 percent below market value.
The village would be more than three times bigger than any market-rate residential complex in San Diego County.
“This landmark project will play a pivotal role in our ongoing transformation of the campus, driving physical, cultural and intellectual growth,” Khosla told The San Diego Union-Tribune in a text message Thursday.
“Knowing that the student experience is enhanced — both academically and socially — with thriving on-campus housing communities, our ultimate goal is to expand high-quality housing that empowers our students to excel, contribute to our academic, research and patient care excellence and become the leaders of tomorrow.”
The plan calls for sandwiching the dorms 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, a figure that’s soared as UCSD has focused on building high-rise dorms. But it isn’t keeping up with demand. Nearly 2,800 students are currently on waiting lists for housing.
Enrollment is expected to rise by 7,600 over the next 10 to 15 years, pushing UCSD past the 50,000 mark and creating more demand for housing.
During Thursday’s meeting, regents also gave UCSD permission to construct a $350 million, 150,000-square-foot life science research building on the southern edge of main campus. Construction is expected to begin this fall.
