Campus News
More student housing on the horizon as UC Regents approve new housing complex
The project will provide housing for nearly 1,300 upper division students on the west side of the UC Santa Cruz campus.
The goal is to open the new housing for fall 2029, marking a significant step in the campus’s ambitious plan to increase student housing by 40 percent within the decade.
The University of California Board of Regents today approved a new housing project on the west side of the UC Santa Cruz campus, endorsing a plan to significantly expand on-campus housing for upper-division students.
Heller Student Housing South is the first phase of a two-part project that will redevelop a 13-acre site that is the current location of Family Student Housing. After the new community for students with families opens in the 2026-27 academic year, the existing buildings will be removed for the new construction. Heller Student South will provide housing for nearly 1,300 upper-division undergraduate students.
The goal is to open the new housing for fall 2029, marking a significant step in the campus’s ambitious plan to increase student housing by 40 percent within the decade.
“This project is crucial for our campus,” Chancellor Cynthia Larive said. “Support for students begins with on-campus housing and we are looking forward to being able to provide even more students with the opportunity to live and study on campus.”
UC Santa Cruz currently provides housing for 9,300 students, about 50 percent of its undergraduate community and one of the highest percentages within the UC system. With a mix of new construction and college renewal projects, the campus is working toward adding thousands more units in the coming years.
Heller Student Housing South will include four buildings, ranging from five to seven stories, built south of the existing pedestrian bridge at Rachel Carson College.
In order to support a range of student preferences, units will be available in a mix of singles, triple studios, two- and four-bedroom apartments, and co-living suites.
Features in the first phase include a market, multi-purpose space, mailroom, and laundry facilities. The recently expanded dining hall at Rachel Carson and Oakes colleges will provide additional dining opportunities for students.
Consistent with the university’s commitment to sustainability and other new housing on campus, Heller is expected to earn Gold Certification or higher in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED™). The project is fully electric, with no fossil fuels used for space or water heating, and each building will include solar panels. The campus has designed the project to capture stormwater for non-potable uses such as toilet flushing and irrigation to reduce water consumption.
UC Santa Cruz has plans for the second phase on the north end of the site to be advanced at a later date. The north project will provide up to 1,650 beds, giving UC Santa Cruz a combined total of 2,940 beds on the Heller site.