As the State Legislature seeks to expand enrollment at its public universities, some students and schools still grapple with a lack of affordable student housing. Assembly Budget Chair Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) today announced two new state-supported projects on the San Francisco State University campus, which will bring much-needed, affordable housing to students, while creating a more equitable opportunities for student success at the City’s largest university.
The centerpiece is a new, six-story residence hall that will provide 750 beds for first-year students. It will be built on the University’s West Campus Green and include a new dining hall, offices, meeting spaces, study spaces and a new student health center. A state budget allocation of $116.3 million will fund 65% of all costs associated with construction and development. SF State will utilize the existing California State University Systemwide Revenue Bond program to cover the remaining $63 million cost of the project.
“In addition to providing affordable housing for hundreds of first-year college students, this development will lower housing costs and increase housing access for all SF State students,” said Assemblymember Ting. “These new residences can also help reduce market pressures on housing in the City and the Bay Area. When hundreds of students are able to live on campus, it frees up rentals everywhere else.”
For Fall 2022, SF State had the largest on-campus residential population in its history with 4,107 students, but the University also had a wait list of more than 1,600 students for on-campus housing.
A separate $2.5 million project will also add more on-campus housing by reengineering space in the Campus’ Student Services Building to make room for a full-service cross-cultural center. This new space will create a centralized location for students to collaborate on events, services and community engagement. Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Student Services, Black Unity Center, Latinx Student Center and Dream Resource Center will share in the benefits of the combined facility, along with LGBTQ+ Student Life and the Office of Diversity, Student Equity and Interfaith Programs, which includes Jewish Student Life and Muslim Student Life. Each of these departments are currently in multiple dorm rooms. So combining them into one location will also free up some space, further reducing the wait list for student housing.
“In addition to contributing to the sense of community on our campus, this new Cross-Cultural Center will promote student success and retention,” said SF State President Lynn Mahoney. “This Center will enrich the college experiences for numerous groups on our campus community while creating new opportunities for them to collaborate and learn from one another.”
The West Campus Green residence hall project is slated to open in fall of 2024 and the Cross-Cultural Center will open for business in fall 2023.