After UC Santa Barbara backed off plans to build the massive and controversial Munger Hall, officials are working on a new project to meet their student housing needs.
The university plans to add 2,140 student beds in apartment-style units for undergraduates. The San Benito project will include seven buildings ranging from six to eight stories.
Apartments will be 4-bedroom units. Additionally, 2-bedroom units and singles will be provided for residential staff and students with special housing needs.
The development will house second-year students and beyond, and will include retail and dining facilities, plus a market and a cafe.
On May 15, the UC Regents, the governing board for the UC system, approved $19.15 million for UCSB to go toward the project.
The San Benito community is the first phase of a two-phase housing project, and is expected to be ready by fall 2027. The second phase is set to provide an additional 1,400 beds ready by 2029, according to UCSB.
The project will be built on the northwest corner of campus on a roughly 5-acre site between Mesa Road and Stadium Road.
In order to make room for the new housing development, the California Coastal Commission on June 15 approved demolishing and removing 17 buildings at the former facilities management site.
Demolition will occur over three weeks sometime between Sept. 1 and Feb. 15 to avoid bird and raptor nesting season, according to the coastal commission report.
Once demolition is complete, construction can begin on the site.
The second phase of the project will add beds within five existing residence halls known as the Channel Islands Five.
The university has roughly 23,000 undergraduate students and only provides 2,800 undergraduate beds in apartment-style units, according to the regents’ report.
UC Santa Barbara’s growth and inability to meet housing needs has sparked complaints and litigation from surrounding agencies.
In March, UCSB reached a settlement with the Santa Barbara County and the city of Goleta that the university would provide 3,500 new student beds and pay $3.7 million to the county to fund community-serving projects.
With this project, UCSB will be able to provide on-campus housing to over 12,000 students, according to the regents report.
UCSB is set to return to the regents in September to request full approval of budget, design and external financing.