San Diego City College has broken ground on what will become an eight-story apartment complex for students.
KPBS-TV reports that the facility will fill a need for affordable housing for the college's students. Rent could be as low as $1,000 per month for a studio.
Gloria said the planned apartments are important for low-income students from marginalized communities.
"For too many people, we do not create the space for them to belong in San Diego," San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said. "We don’t say 'yes' enough to housing to allow them to feel as though they belong. That's particularly acute with young people who are pursuing higher education."
Demolition of the college's former child development center was completed to make way for the foundation of the affordable housing building.
"We’re going to have 800 students coming to all the spaces on our campus, bringing life, bringing their families, and truly creating community," said María-José Zeledón-Pérez, the Academic Senate President and a communications professor at City College.
The San Diego Community College District is using a $75 million state grant to start design and construction in the next year at the corner of the property at 16th and C streets. The additional $200 million needed to complete construction will come from bond money and a capital fundraising campaign along with private donations.
