UC Santa Barbara proposed a new mixed-use housing project called East Campus Housing at the Nov. 13 University of California Regents meeting. It would add approximately 1,275 new student beds in apartment-style buildings and 412 “replacement” residence hall beds.
Santa Rosa Residence Hall and Ortega Dining Commons would be demolished to construct the East Campus Housing Project. Spencer Brandt / Daily Nexus.
UCSB has proposed to demolish the Ortega Dining Commons and the Santa Rosa Residence Hall and construct approximately 428,000 assignable, or occupant-designated, square feet and 600,000 gross square feet of new mixed-use residential space, including student apartments and dormitory spaces.
According to the 2010 Long Range Development Plan (LRDP), UCSB is obligated to Goleta and Santa Barbara County (SBC) to build at least 5,000 new beds in student housing to support the enrollment growth of up to 25,000 students by 2025. The University failed to provide the projected number of student beds in time — after the Munger Hall project was canceled due to its scope and surrounding controversy — and settled a 2022 lawsuit filed by the City of Goleta and SBC last March for $6 million.
The University of California (UC) Regents voted on Nov. 14 to approve $16.49 million of campus funds toward the project. The funds will be put toward schematic design and design development, specialty consultants, project budget confirmation and preparation of environmental documentation, as the project is in its preliminary stages.
Where the East Campus Housing Project will be located. Screenshot of a UC Regents document.
The full budget is expected to be funded by “long-term external debt financing” and housing reserves, according to the document. Only campus funds will be used to fund preliminary plans and later the external debt financing will be used to reimburse the campus.
East Campus Housing, alongside the ongoing San Benito Housing project, will accommodate approximately 3,500 undergraduate students. It will be constructed as an all-electric project using no fossil fuel combustion for utilities, according to the housing plan. The housing project aims to get the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold rating, which verifies a buildings sustainability.
Programming and conceptual design efforts for the project are overseen by a building committee with students, faculty and professional staff and have used information from student outreach events and student preference surveys.
According to the UC Regents’ document, rent for multi-family units in SBC’s South Coast market area increased by 47% over the past 10 years and vacancy rates — the number of available unoccupied units at a given time — have stayed below 5%. While 40% of the campus community lives in I.V., data from February showed just a 2.2% vacancy rate.
Average rents in I.V. apartments are approximately $2,400 per month and $3,000 per month in the Goleta area, according to the document. Comparatively, the cost for university-owned apartments usually ranges between $776 to $941 for undergraduate housing.
Additionally, fall quarter 2023 campus housing occupancy exceeded the intended capacity by 116%, with over 1,500 students living in triple rooms originally designed for double occupancy, according to Regents’ documents.
The East Campus Housing peroject is the newest project of two to provide more undergraduate student beds, alongside the San Benito Housing project. The two projects in tandem will “alleviate the need for triple occupancy” and put UCSB in alignment with the goals of the LRDP by adding 3,500 student beds.
The campus plans to reconvene with the Regents in mid-2025 to request approval for the full budget, external financing, scope and design.
A version of this article appeared on p. 1 of the Nov. 21, 2024 edition of the Daily Nexus.
