UC San Diego Greenlights $537M Student Housing Plan

Triton Center. Image courtesy of LMN Architects

The University of California Board of Regents has unveiled and approved plans for Triton Center and Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood, two student projects that will encompass study, health care and student housing for undergraduate students in La Jolla, Calif. UC San Diego will invest $1.1 billion in the two developments, scheduled to break ground this summer, The San Diego Union-Tribute reported.

The $537 million Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood is among UC San Diego’s three initiatives to add a combined 5,700 beds to the campus by 2025. The space will comprise 2,400 beds for undergraduate students, 19 classrooms and a 150-seat lecture hall. Amenities will include a dining hall, outdoor gathering areas, coworking spaces, study lounges, wellness space and a glass blowing craft studio.

Thurgood Marshall College, the School of Global Policy and Strategy and the Department of Economics in the School of Social Sciences will occupy the study areas. The project is designed to the same environmental standards by HMC Architects and EYRC Architects. Hensel Phelps is the general contractor.

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Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood. Image courtesy of Hensel Phelps/HMC/EYRC

Scheduled for completion in 2026, the $428 million Triton Center will comprise The Student Health, Mental Health and Well-Being Building, the Student Academic Resources Building, an Alumni and Welcome Center, as well as a multi-purpose building that will comprise an art gallery and a 500-person event space.  The center will offer access to medical care and wellness spaces and become an extension of the Teaching + Learning Commons program.

Located at 9500 Gilman Drive, Triton will become a central hub for students and will be within walking distance of John Muir College and the Cognitive Science Building. TBD is the general contractor of the developments with LMN Architects leading the design efforts. The project is also designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Campus expansions and student housing efforts

The projects represent a milestone for UC San Diego and are designed to significantly improve the student experience, offering new housing and increased academic space, as well as supporting and fostering interdisciplinary research and a sense of community among students, said Chancellor Pradeep Khosla in prepared remarks.

The student housing project marks the latest housing development after the 10-acre North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood and the 2,000-bed Theatre District Living and Learning Neighborhood slated to open to this fall. The institution continues its efforts to house 65 percent of students by 2035 and maintain a 20 percent market rate for a four-year housing guarantee.

The University of California continues its goal to provide increased student access and meet the demand for study spaces and housing as an effect of rising enrollment. At the beginning of the year, The Regents of the University of California, UCLA campus paid $80 million for two assets, previously owned by Marymount California University. The properties included the MCU Oceanview campus in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., and The Villas student housing property in L.A.’s San Pedro neighborhood.