Reimagining the Campus Landscape. San Benito's progress continues.
Excitement is building as the San Benito student housing development continues its swift progress toward an anticipated Fall 2027 opening. This landmark project will introduce 2,224 new undergraduate beds to the UC Santa Barbara housing portfolio, significantly enhancing living options for our growing student community.
Recently, staff from Housing, Dining & Auxiliary Enterprises, Student Affairs, and Budget & Planning, alongside campus project managers from Design & Construction Services, the architecture team SOM | Mithun, and construction managers Webcor, visited the site for a construction tour. This immersive experience included visual renderings and a captivating virtual reality simulation, offering an exciting look into the future of this new student community.
Designed primarily with 4-bedroom, eight-person apartments, San Benito will offer modern housing solutions for continuing students. Additionally, a selection of studios and 2-bedroom, four-person apartments will be available. The thoughtfully planned site will feature a new market, expansive student amenity spaces including inviting lounges, dedicated study rooms, a recreation room, a package and mailroom, and a comprehensive student services building.
Campus connectivity will also see significant improvements with the addition of a new bike path, bus stop, and an integrated bus line to enhance campus access. The project also reconfigures campus circulation from Henry T. Yang Drive (formerly Mesa Road) to Stadium Road, prioritizing pedestrian access in and out of the new community from the west to preserve environmentally sensitive habitat to the south and east.
San Benito proudly stands as UCSB’s first all-electric residential facility, underscoring our deep commitment to environmental stewardship. The project is on target to achieve the LEED Gold standard set by the campus, with the goal of reaching LEED Platinum certification.
Stay tuned to this site for ongoing construction updates and exciting announcements as we bring this transformative project from renderings to reality!
Tannar Whitney, Project Manager from architecture firm SOM, explains the construction site activity to UCSB Staff, including Associate Vice Chancellor Willie Brown and Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Mike Miller.
Building Committee Co-Chairs, Gene Lucas, former Executive Vice Chancellor for UCSB, and Willie Brown, Associate Vice Chancellor for Housing, Dining & Auxiliary Enterprises.
Architectural renderings of the future San Benito at the construction site.
Three large cranes mark the current landscape.
Construction progress on the building site.