State Student Housing Grant

The State Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program was established by the California Legislature in 2021, providing direct state funding to California’s public higher education segments to expand affordable student housing. The program aims to increase access to low-cost housing, reduce student housing insecurity, and accelerate delivery of new housing capacity.

With state support, UC campuses have designed and developed projects with over 7,000 new student beds to date, including over 3,000 subsidized beds restricted to student tenants paying no more than 30% of 50% of Area Median Income (AMI). The program also supports innovative partnerships — including joint projects with California Community Colleges at UC Riverside and UC Merced — that expand affordable housing opportunities for both UC and community college students.

Several major grant-supported projects are now delivering new capacity. Pepper Canyon West at UC San Diego opened in Fall 2024, providing hundreds of new affordable beds near the campus core. Additional major projects — including new phases of Mesa Court at UC Irvine and the next phase of Riverside’s North District — are slated to open in Fall 2025, further expanding access to affordable housing for students.

UC Housing Projects – Subsidized and Campus Beds

Location
Project Name

Subsidized 
Beds

Campus
Beds

Total
Beds
Berkeley
Housing Project #2 (People’s Park)

310

803

1,113
Davis
Segundo Infill

 241

 278

 494
Irvine
Mesa Court Housing Expansion		 300

 100

 424
Los Angeles
Gayley Towers Redevelopment

 358

 87

445
San Diego
Pepper Canyon West Student Housing		 1,100

 197

 1,297
Santa Barbara
East Campus		 240

 1,035

 1,297
Santa Cruz
Kresge College Non-Academic		 320

 117

 437
Intersegmental Merced / Merced Community College “Promise” Student Housing 287¹

 

 287
Intersegmental Riverside / Riverside Community
College District – North District Phase 2		 326²

 916

 1,242
Systemwide 3,482

 3,533

 7,036

Notes:

¹ 80% of project subsidized beds. Additional 191 beds are planned for Merced College students.

² 50% of project subsidized beds. Additional 326 beds are planned for Riverside City College students.

³ No UC subsidized beds. 376 subsidized beds allocated to Cabrillo College.

 

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