As California colleges scramble to solve a student housing crunch, one public university in the Inland Empire is testing a new model at a newly opened apartment complex.
The University of California Riverside has opened a 429-unit complex with 1,568 beds to house students from both UC Riverside and the Riverside Community College District.
The university says the $285 million construction project created the first public intersegmental student housing project in the U.S.
The expansion aims to increase access to affordable housing and campus resources for underrepresented student populations, as the state faces a shortage of housing that has trickled into the education system.
California’s biggest cities are planning fewer housing units than they did a decade ago, despite strict state mandates to ramp up production to increase affordability. The state is calling for the planning of 2.5 million residences by 2031.
University students are feeling the crunch, as rental costs climb in their cities. A University of Southern California report found that 25% of community college students and 8% of University of California students have experienced homelessness.
“By bringing together students from two institutions, we’re advancing a model that does not yet exist elsewhere in California,” UC Riverside Chancellor S. Jack Hu said at the ribbon-cutting. “Housing is not just a building, but a basic need and the foundation for success for many students.”
The concept is gaining traction across California, according to Sarah Carr, vice president at McCarthy Building Cos., the builder of the new Riverside complex.
“We’re creating a replicable model for institutions nationwide,” a statement from Carr said.
Gaining traction
More than 30,000 students are on waiting lists each year for housing provided by University of California and California State University schools.
Rents near these major campuses have surged 30% since 2018, and over 400,000 students statewide are estimated to lack stable housing each year, according to the California Student Aid Commission.
California’s push for intersegmental housing began in 2021, as state leaders aimed to increase incentives to add housing for community college students, typically a demographic without dormitory options.
The UC Riverside project was funded in part by a $126 million grant from California’s Higher Education Student Housing program. Other shared housing projects have launched across the state in recent years. The University of California Merced and Merced College are planning a 488-bed dorm for transfer students, while San Diego State University and Imperial Valley College have secured state funding for a joint facility in California’s border region.
The new Riverside project is called North District Phase II, expanding on a 1,500-bed North District complex that opened in 2021 on a 50-acre tract once home to World War II-era family housing.
How it works
UC Riverside, located about 55 miles east of Los Angeles, is one of the fastest-growing campuses in the UC system, with more than 26,000 students. Just a few miles away, RCCD spans three campuses — Riverside City College, Moreno Valley College and Norco College — serving thousands across the Inland Empire.
North District Phase II opened in time for the fall semester, offering one- to four-bedroom apartments in designs mirroring market-rate housing but priced for students facing housing instability.
For the first time, RCCD students are living alongside their UC Riverside peers, with access to dining halls, libraries and student support services.
Though the institutions operate independently, they’ve partnered to smooth the path to a four-year degree. By housing community college students on the UCR campus while they complete associate programs, the schools are removing barriers that often derail transfer plans.