The University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) is expanding its available housing options, investing in a series of projects providing thousands of new rooms for its students.
The university recently announced that, while construction has been delayed to 2027, plans to build new facilities along Heller Drive are in motion. Although the construction cost has not been released, the Board of Regents approved a $146 million budget to support UCSC’s expansion efforts.
As part of its efforts to offer additional student housing for a rapidly growing student body, UCSC is currently designing residential buildings along Heller Drive. Once completed, these facilities will provide enough space to serve approximately 3,000 undergraduates. They will also feature new amenities such as a market, cafe, fitness center and study areas.
In recent years, UCSC has been at the center of a housing crisis, facing increased pressure to provide adequate living spaces and mitigate the impact of poor housing conditions on its student body. The institution has been ranked among the least affordable rental markets in the country.
Before USCS can follow through on its aspirations to grow its student body by 8,000 by 2040, it will need to ensure it has the capacity and affordability to handle the spike in population.
Increased scrutiny on the university’s housing market ultimately led toward its ongoing student housing initiative. USCS has committed to expanding its student housing by more than 40% by 2040, supplying thousands of students with high-quality residential facilities. The Heller Drive buildings will comprise the second phase of the Student Housing West project, which has already begun work on a family student housing complex.
The university will demolish existing residence facilities to make room for development on the Heller Drive project. However, due to the project’s delay, families living there will not be required to move out of their current housing yet. According to university officials, family tenants will be able to stay at their current rental rates through June 2026.
Student Housing West is the first major student housing project since 2002, marking a significant investment in the university’s efforts to increase housing availability. While the Heller Drive buildings will be the single-most expansive investment over the last 23 years, UCSC has been making progress on increasing housing density. The university has added approximately 3,300 beds over the past two decades, converting two-bed units into three-bed spaces and lounges into bedrooms.
Photo by Dynaflow, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
