UC San Diego’s $537 million living-learning neighborhood combines 2,400 beds with academic space

The 972,000-square-foot Ridge Walk North development brings student housing, classrooms, academic departments, dining, wellness, and support services together as the university expands its residential campus.
Oct. 21, 2026
4 min read
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Key Highlights

  • The development includes three residence buildings housing over 2,400 students, along with academic and administrative spaces, totaling 972,000 square feet.
  • Ridge Walk North features LEED Gold targeted design, incorporating sustainable practices like low-flow fixtures, daylighting, and durable materials.
  • The project enhances campus connectivity with outdoor plazas, green spaces, and shared amenities such as cafes, e-sports facilities, and study lounges.
  • It supports UC San Diego’s goal of providing a four-year housing guarantee at below-market rents, addressing affordability and enrollment growth.
  • The integrated design combines student housing with academic and support services, creating a vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive campus neighborhood.
Courtesy of EYRC
Aerial view of new mixed-use student residence hall and classroom buildings above lawn space.

UC San Diego has completed a $537 million mixed-use campus development that combines housing for more than 2,400 students with academic, dining, wellness, and student-support spaces. The Ridge Walk North Living and Learning Neighborhood spans 972,000 square feet at the university’s Thurgood Marshall College, featuring three residence buildings that provide housing for more than 2,400 students, while the broader development includes classroom and administrative space, the Department of Economics, the School of Global Policy and Strategy, a Basic Needs Center, an esports center, a market, and a glass arts facility, according to university news.

Students began moving into the residential portion in fall 2025, bringing UC San Diego’s total on-campus housing capacity to a record 22,000 students. Academic components continued opening in 2026, including the Brian C. Malk Hall and the Glass Center.

The design-build team included Hensel Phelps serving as general contractor, EYRC Architects taking on the non-housing portions of the development, and HMC Architects assuming responsibility for the residential buildings, according to project information provided to AS&U.

Housing expansion supports enrollment growth

Courtesy of EYRC
Student lounge with comfortable bench seating and access to outdoor patio space.
Ridge Walk North is part of a broader push by UC San Diego to increase housing as enrollment has grown. A 2015 state mandate to expand University of California enrollment contributed to a significant increase in UC San Diego’s undergraduate population, prompting the university to add both academic facilities and student housing. Over the past decade, UC San Diego has added about 10,000 beds, including the Theatre District and Pepper Canyon West living-learning neighborhoods that opened in 2024, according to the university.

The 2,400 beds at Ridge Walk North also move the university closer to its goal of offering students a four-year housing guarantee at rents approximately 20% below surrounding market rates—an approach that comes as colleges across the country wrestle with the cost and feasibility of expanding their residential portfolios. AS&U recently examined how construction costs, financing, rents, and local market conditions are reshaping student housing development. California also has taken steps to reduce development barriers by enacting four laws earlier this year that are intended to streamline approvals and environmental review for student housing projects.

Academic and residential uses share one neighborhood

The Ridge Walk North project goes beyond simply adding residence halls by taking a more integrated approach to student and academic life. The development includes 19 general-assignment classrooms and a 130-seat lecture hall, along with administrative and instructional facilities for Thurgood Marshall College, the School of Global Policy and Strategy, and the Department of Economics. Brian C. Malk Hall serves as the new home for Economics and includes additional academic space.

Residential buildings include study lounges, coworking areas, wellness and fitness facilities, shared kitchens, gathering spaces, and roof terraces. The neighborhood also incorporates Goody’s Cafe + Market, an e-sports facility, and outdoor plazas and green spaces that connect the development with Geisel Library, the Historic Grove, and other parts of campus.

Why this matters

UC San Diego has been adding housing at a scale few institutions can match, and Ridge Walk North shows how that expansion is being used to reshape the campus at the same time. The project replaces lower-density buildings with more than 2,400 beds while also adding classrooms, academic departments, student services, dining, and shared outdoor space.

For facilities planners, the useful takeaway here is the land-use strategy. On a constrained campus in an expensive housing market, UC San Diego is increasing residential capacity while concentrating many of the services students use every day within the same district. That can reduce pressure for separate, single-purpose projects and give the university more flexibility as enrollment, housing demand, and academic needs continue to change.

The project team used a mix of private, semi-private, and public spaces to give students places for both individual work and informal interaction. The three residence towers are organized with smaller communal spaces and “front porch” areas intended to break down the scale of the large residential complex, according to HMC Architects.

Additionally, the expanded Hub Basic Needs Center, scheduled to open during fall 2026, will provide assistance to students facing challenges involving food, housing, finances, and other essential needs.

All-electric design targets LEED Gold

“Sustainable, inclusive, and human-scaled—these residence halls are a blueprint for what student housing can be,” said Kristina Singiser, AIA, DBIA, LEED AP, managing  principal at HMC Architects, in a press release. “They offer more than a bed—they offer a sense of place and purpose.”  

Energy and sustainability strategies include low-flow plumbing fixtures, daylighting, access to views, durable materials, and building systems designed to reduce environmental impacts. The residential and academic buildings are targeting LEED Gold certification, according to Hensel Phelps.

The project also replaced low-rise residential and administrative buildings dating back several decades, allowing the university to substantially increase the number of students housed on the site while adding academic and support functions.

This piece was created with the help of generative AI tools and edited by our content team for clarity and accuracy.
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