UC Santa Cruz’s moved forward this week in developing the Student Housing West (SHW) project, which will bring 3,000 beds to campus.
The SHW planning committee chose Capstone Development Partners as the private company to participate in the public- private partnership (P3) model, a way of financing large projects that allows private companies to lease university lands to design, construct and manage housing developments.
“This is a significant step but I don’t want to give the impression that this is it and we’re off to the races. […] We still have a ways to go,” said Capital Planning Director Steve Houser.
Capstone Development Partners was chosen, Houser said, because of their ability to complete a project proposal,
including physical and budgetary plans, and their focus on sustainability.
The university opted to use the P3 model to lessen the financial burden of on campus housing development SHW. The model requires a non-profit agency, which has not yet been selected, to facilitate the relationship between the university and developer.
While this marks a major step in the development process, there are still many measures to take before construction begins, including a written contract, environmental impact considerations, a public outreach period and ultimately the UC Board of Regents’ approval.
Currently, there is no set date for these tasks to be completed, but Houser said, a portion of the beds are still set to be available by fall 2020.
