UC Riverside will open its newest student residential community this week, continuing efforts to meet housing demands with a first-of-its-kind partnership.

More than 200 students from Riverside Community College District, or RCCD, will be the first to move into North District 2 on Aug. 23, in advance of their fall semester starting the following week. UCR students will move in Sept. 19 and 20, the weekend before UCR’s fall quarter starts.

Contractor McCarthy Building Companies completed work last month after 21 months of construction. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project is planned for Sept. 29.

The new 415,000-square-foot complex features 429 units with 1,568 beds in two apartment-style buildings ranging from five to seven stories in height. The project is the second phase of the North District project, which opened in fall 2021 with apartment-style buildings – five and six stories – with a combined 544,000-square-feet and 1,500 beds.

UCR was able to speed up construction of the new housing complex by almost a year after working with RCCD to jointly apply for $126 million in state funding for the $347.8 million project. 

UCR Chancellor S. Jack Hu said the partnership demonstrates how both institutions are working to meet critical student housing needs while strengthening educational pathways.

“By providing safe, affordable housing for both UCR and RCCD students, we are expanding access to higher education, fostering a supportive living–learning environment, and helping more students succeed in their academic journeys,” he said. “This innovative partnership reflects our shared commitment to opportunity, excellence, and the future of Inland Southern California.”

UCR and RCCD leaders, who have sought to encourage transfers of community college students to the UC system, say the shared housing experience will help prepare community college students to realize their educational goals.

Thomas Cruz-Soto, dean of student services at Riverside City College, said the opportunity for community college students to live at UCR builds on RCCD programs such as Road to Riverside, which provides a transfer pathway to UCR with resources including advising and academic preparation.

“It allows students to live on campus, see what UCR truly is like, and be on that road to Riverside,” he said. “It’s important that we nurture our talent here and keep them here in Riverside.”

While RCCD students will room together they will be interspersed among UCR students throughout the two buildings and will be able to access campus services such as the libraries, the Student Recreation Center, and residential restaurants. RCCD advisers will also be able to use office space at North District and join student resident meetings. 

With the two North District complexes and the 820-bed Dundee Residence Hall, which opened in fall 2020, UCR has added almost 4,000 beds over the last five years, a 68% increase. 

The campus continues to have a large waiting list of students seeking housing but the new project will increase the percentage of students housed on campus from 32% to about 35%, said Heidi Scribner, associate vice chancellor for auxiliary services.

“This certainly helps, and we do need to continue to move forward to get as many of our students into our campus areas as possible,” she said. “Campus housing provides the most support and direct resources to our students.”

The 50-acre North District tract, formerly a sparsely populated World War II-era student family housing complex, still has room for growth, with future phases of student housing in the planning stages, Scribner said.

The new project will also help relieve housing insecurity for RCCD students, said Cruz-Soto. RCCD does not offer campus housing but helps connect students to local housing resources. But for many students, area rents are too high with some resorting to sleeping on floors or other alternatives, he said.

“A lot of our students because they are housing unstable, they’re not able to think about and plan their future,” Cruz-Soto said. “Now with this housing initiative, they are able to see what their future possibly could look like at UCR.”

North District 2 will have 652 beds at below-market, low-income rents, between $750 to $850 a month. Half of those will be for UCR students and half for RCCD students. The rest of the units – containing 916 beds – will be rented to UCR students at prices similar to other campus apartment housing, about $1,300 to $1,700, depending on size and type of room.

RCCD had an initial 1,000 applicants before ultimately selecting about 240 residents. Applicants were required to be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits, be in good academic standing, eligible for financial aid, plan to transfer to a four-year university, and commit to an annual contract. 

Students from all three RCCD campuses were invited to apply, although Riverside City College students make up the majority of selected residents. A Riverside Transit Authority bus route stops nearby, providing connections to all three campuses.

Welcome activities are planned for the first group of students such as a craft night and pizza party. Housing Services personnel will also be on hand to help with various campus resources.

“We are trying to be available to them as often as we can so that we learn what their needs are and what hurdles they’re going to run into trying to navigate our campus,” said Bob Brumbaugh, UCR senior director of housing.

The complex, known as North District buildings C and D, features one to four-bedroom apartments that are fully furnished with high-speed wireless internet, central heating and air conditioning, a stove, a microwave, and refrigerator. The community offers amenities including a 700-space parking lot, fitness center, laundry facilities, meeting rooms, study spaces, and bike storage.

As with the first North District, the new complex creates community spaces with two courtyards, benches, planters, hammocks, and patio areas with ping pong and pool tables. Three new playing fields were built to the north while a 2.4-acre community park with a walking trail along pine and oak trees was created in between the two housing complexes.

“It’s really quite lovely,” Scribner said. “It might be my favorite spot.”

Facing the city on Canyon Crest Drive, a two-story pedestrian arcade provides shade and creates a welcoming new urban edge for this area of campus, said Jacqueline Norman, campus architect. And midway along the walkway, Dining Services will open a market named the Den featuring a coffee bar, panini and bagel sandwiches, fresh fruit, beverages, and snacks.

“With each successive phase, the North District becomes greater than the sum of its parts, abundant with opportunity for rich experiences both indoors and out,” Norman said. “I am confident this latest phase will impact the campus and the surrounding neighborhood for the better, making it more welcoming, safe, and vibrant.”