In about two years, UC Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College officials plan to open a student housing complex that is expected to revolutionize the way local students live and attend school, and how they pay for their living space.
A group of educators, elected officials and nonprofit leaders gathered in the multipurpose fields of Cabrillo’s Aptos campus Monday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony on the Costa Vista Student Housing project.
The $181 million development will be the first student housing collaboration between a California community college and the University of California to be located on a community college campus, UCSC Chancellor Cynthia Larive said.
To pay for the project, Cabrillo will receive funding from the state to pay for their share of beds, equal to $111.7 million in state support. The rest of the project is financed through bonds that are being sold through the California Municipal Finance Authority that will be paid off using rent revenue over 35 years.
The 257,000 square-foot project will span three buildings, with 60% of the beds designated for Cabrillo College students and 40% of the beds for UCSC students.
The buildings will be five stories, measuring about 55 feet high.
Each unit will have a kitchen, and the promenade will have a coffee shop with grab-and-go food, as well as food vendors.
While there will be parking on site, students will likely be able to use existing spaces, since parking has not been at capacity since the Covid pandemic, said Cabrillo spokeswoman Kristin Fabos.
In addition to single-occupancy, double-occupancy, and family units, it will include a child care center for its residents. All units will be deemed affordable, which is required by state law.
Cabrillo President Matt Wetstein said that the idea for the project came out of the seven-year-old Affordability, Food & Housing Access Taskforce, which is made up of CEOs from community colleges across California.
That group determined that too many students are struggling with the high cost of housing and food, he said.
“Our group sought to lift up the voice of students in California,” Wetstein said. “We know that they struggle to find housing.”
He also praised the efforts of the multiple entities involved in getting the project shovel-ready in less than a year.
“Through dedicated hard work, effort, energy, commitment, we’ve established an award-winning design project that went from design concept to permitting and construction starting in 11 months,” he said. “That is amazing.”
Cabrillo student trustee Grace Goodhue said that the housing development will help students navigate one of the nation’s most expensive housing markets.
Some 54% of local students are affected by housing insecurity, and one-quarter are affected by “houselessness,” Goodhue said.
The childcare center, she said, will help student parents focus on their education.
“Affordable housing for students is critically important to support their success and long-term goals,” she said.
Sen. John Laird said that the 624-bed project will help students struggling to find housing.
“This makes a fundamental difference in people being able to attend college and better themselves and be productive members of our economy in a way that I think everyone that had anything to do with it should have a sense of pride,” he said.
Larive said that the project will allow Cabrillo students to live on campus, and then transfer to UCSC without moving and still paying the same rent, which will average $1,150.
She said that safe and affordable housing is “a key to student success.”
UCSC currently charges $20,928 annually for on-campus room and board. Based on a nine-month academic calendar, that adds up to roughly $2,325 per month. That’s compared to the average cost nationwide for room and board of $12,986, according to the Education Data Initiative.
“This groundbreaking is a moment to celebrate,” Larive said.
She also spoke of the success of Cabrillo students who transfer to UCSC. Some 85% of Cabrillo students who apply are accepted, compared to 75% from other colleges, she said.
“Cabrillo students come to UCSC and they succeed,” she said.
While the groundbreaking ceremony drew more than 100 people, not everyone there was happy about the project, which will take the space where two much-used soccer fields stood.
Efrain Espinoza, who stood holding a sign that said “But tell me… Where will the children play?” said that the teams that use the field have not been given an alternative.
“We’re concerned that every day we keep losing field space for the kids to play soccer,” Espinoza said. “The local club here, I don’t know where they’re going to move to.”
This story has been updated with information on rent, building size and how the students will access food.
Article cites UCSC rate for room AND board but there’s no mention of Cabrillo offering meals to residents of new rooms. Will they? Also no mention of rental rates for new apartments. Very difficult to compare USCS vs Cabrillo w/ incomplete data. Will Santa Cruz county residents have priority for these units? TY in advance.
P.S. Why couldn’t missing soccer fields be replaced by repurposing old 9-hole course on Mar Vista?
all good questions, Patricia , . and so are your suggestions. thank you!
as i have said before, this project took decades to bring about, long before i was elected to the board. I made it a keystone of my 2020 campaign to get elected, along with expanding the available room at the Watsonville site, changing the name of the college, and a variety of issues. The Watsonville site will expand into the current Digital Nest building in January. they are moving nearby to their own building. As i have said about the name, the student council voted to name the 3 dorms: COSTA VISTA (coast view), north, central and south. it would make a great new name for the college. This is an exciting time for our community college.
thanks to the PAJARONIAN for covering this story with photos !
Great news! We’ve been losing locals for years due to the high cost of living. Creative solutions will help make our county more affordable for younger generations.