New residence halls at Kresge College are among several housing projects on the UC Santa Cruz campus. (UC Santa Cruz)
Last updated: September 2023
Location: UC Santa Cruz campus
Student Housing West comprises two development locations, one in the East Meadow at Hagar and Coolidge drives and the other on Heller Drive.
A separate housing project is underway at Kresge College.
Student Housing West
Student Housing West is a proposal to build housing on two sites with beds for more than 3,000 students. It includes approximately 2,700 apartment and community-style beds for upper division undergraduates, 220 studio and community-style beds for graduate students, and 140 two-bedroom apartments geared toward students with families. The plan also includes a community room and a new early childhood education center.
- The plan requires the demolition of an 199-unit family student housing complex on the Heller Drive site.
- The Hagar Drive site will require building on the campus’ East Meadow at the base of campus, a move that environmental advocacy groups have opposed.
The two-part Student Housing West proposed projects on the UC Santa Cruz campus would provide more than 3,000 beds for undergraduate and graduate students. (University of California)
Location: East Meadow development
The proposed development is planned at Hagar and Coolidge drives near the base of campus. It would require building on the East Meadow, a move that environmental advocacy groups have opposed.
Status: East Meadow development
UCSC leaders said in September that they plan to start construction at the Hagar Drive site in early 2024 and open it in fall 2025.
A lawsuit from advocacy group Habitat and Watershed Caretakers had stalled the project, but the University of California Board of Regents approved the project and finance plan at a meeting in March 2023. Though the lawsuit remains in court, UCSC will be able to move forward with the project due to a shift in financing, said UCSC representative Scott Hernandez-Jason.
“UC Santa Cruz secured approval from the UC Board of Regents in March 2023 to implement Student Housing West as a campus-managed capital project,” Hernandez-Jason wrote in an email. “The project was initially proposed and approved as a public-private partnership. Switching to UC financing will be cheaper than private financing, and enables UC Santa Cruz to move forward in the most cost-effective and expeditious manner without further delay from ongoing litigation,” Hernandez-Jason wrote.
Project description: East Meadow development
The proposed project at Hagar and Coolidge drives would build 140 units for students with families and an early childhood education center.
The project would encompass 17 acres and erect 35 two-story buildings, each with four two-bedroom units. The early childhood education center would provide childcare for up to 140 children of students, faculty and staff. The center is planned as a one-story structure with outdoor play areas and would include “observation rooms” with one-way glass for researcher and student observation.
The development would also include a wastewater treatment facility maintained and operated by the university. Parking at the site would amount to one space per unit, 18 visitor parking spaces and 40 to 50 parking spaces for the childcare center.
A rendering shows planned student-family housing on the East Meadow near Hagar and Coolidge drives at UC Santa Cruz. (UCSC)
The proposed development in the East Meadow would include 140 units for students with families and an early childhood education facility. (University of California)
Location: Heller Drive development
The proposed development is at the site of family student housing on Heller Drive.
Status: Heller Drive development
The development at Heller Drive would require the demolition of the family student housing complex and would be built after the new family student housing complex in the East Meadow is completed. The Heller Drive development is projected to be completed by fall 2028, according to a March 2023 project and finance plan.
Project description: Heller Drive development
The proposed development on Heller Drive would build housing for 2,900 undergraduate students and requires the demolition of a 199-unit family student housing complex and childcare facility. The plan would keep the new development within the same area where the existing complex currently stands.
Five buildings would be apartment-style housing units intended for upper-division undergraduate students. The buildings would be five to seven stories tall and total 780 units with about 2,700 beds. The buildings would also include laundry and other residential facilities.
A sixth building is planned for graduate students and would include about 165 units with a total of about 220 beds. This building is planned to be five stories tall and be located at the southernmost end of the site.
The site would include 215 parking spaces for cars and more than 400 bicycle parking spaces.
The housing proposal on Heller Drive would include 2,900 beds for undergraduate and graduate students. (University of California)
Kresge College housing projects
Kresge College at UC Santa Cruz has added 400 new beds in new student residence halls in time for the start of fall classes on Sept. 28, UCSC representative Scott Hernandez-Jason wrote in an email.
Status: Kresge College housing projects
The first phase of construction with 400 new beds is expected to finish by Sept. 28, 2023. The second, final phase of the project is expected to finish in fall 2025. The UC Regents approved the Kresge College additions in 2019 and construction started that year, university leaders wrote in a statement.
Project description: Kresge College housing projects
There will be 990 total beds at Kresge College in 2025, university leaders said. The two phases of construction will build 622 of those 990 beds.
The first phase included three new residence halls with beds for 400 students and a new academic building, said UCSC representative Scott Hernandez-Jason. The second phase of the project has started. It includes the addition of a third floor for 7 of the 12 residential buildings at Kresge. A separate, new residence hall is planned for the south end of Kresge College.
Three new residence halls have been constructed at Kresge College. Students are expected to occupy them in September. (UC Santa Cruz)
Read more about UCSC housing projects
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