Construction has begun in Riverside, California, on a housing development that will provide living space for students from both the University of California, Riverside, and the Riverside Community College District.
The university says the North District Phase 2 project will consist of two apartment-style buildings with 1,568 beds. Officials said a goal of the project is to help community college students secure badly needed housing while giving them a path to continue their higher education.
“This blended housing project is the beginning of fulfilling a dream to provide our students not only with housing, but with access to four-year facilities and academic support services on the UC Riverside campus,” Riverside Community College Board President Bill Hedrick said.
The buildings, six-to-seven stories tall, will be part of a residential neighborhood that will include a shaded pedestrian walkway, a café, fitness space, courtyards, a community park, and recreation fields.
“When we tell our youth, ‘We’re going to give you this beautiful building to come and be part of,' it tells them we believe in them and we know they’re going to do well,” said Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson.
Officials expect the buildings to open in August 2025.
The $347.8 million project received $126 million in state money.
The builder is McCarthy Building Companies, and the architect is SCB.
