The City of San Diego is updating the College Area’s community plan for the first time since 1989. Community plans guide future development, and the latest draft for the College Area paves the way for nearly 18,000 new homes.
The area has changed significantly over the last three decades, said Heidi Vonblum, the city’s planning director.
“There is a trolley line there,” Vonblum said. “And the university, which did exist there in 1989, has really transitioned from a largely commuter school to a very vibrant residential campus.”
Thirty years ago, San Diego State had room for about 2,100 students to live on campus. Now, that number is about 8,500.
The demand for on-campus housing is still growing, according to university leaders. Students who live on campus do better academically and feel more connected to their community, said Cynthia Aranda Cervantes, who leads the university’s housing administration.
“We know that our students have higher GPAs, quicker time to graduation, lower academic probation rates, so a higher student success factor compared to our students who live off campus,” she said.
San Diego State has two new residential buildings in the works to help meet that demand. Together, they would add more than 1,000 beds. Plans for another 3,000 beds are pending approval by the California State University Board of Trustees.
“What we're really trying to address here and to offer is financially competitive on-campus housing opportunities for our students, and to also address and meet the demand that we're seeing from our current student population,” Aranda Cervantes said.
The city is also planning for growth in the surrounding neighborhoods. The latest draft of the College Area Community Plan Update proposes zoning changes to increase density near the university, UC San Diego’s East Campus Medical Center and along Montezuma Road, College Avenue and El Cajon Blvd.
Building those homes would be up to property owners. A state assessment found that San Diego as a whole has to build 108,000 units by 2029 to meet its housing needs.
The city is about halfway there, Vonblum said.
“College Area is one of several communities where we are looking at opportunities to accommodate that additional growth,” she said.
The city is hosting a virtual Q&A session on the College Area plan on Aug. 21. Members of the public can submit comments through Sept. 7.
