The construction of the Village at Torrey Pines West — UCSD’s first residential development specifically for transfer students — is approximately halfway complete, nearing the goal of offering an on-campus housing option to the nearly 2,000 transfer students per year who attend this campus.
UCSD officials say the north campus project, situated behind Eleanor Roosevelt College’s dormitories, is on budget, on schedule and expected to be operating at full occupancy by fall 2009. The $122 million development will contain multiple three- and four-story residential buildings situated beside a 14-story residential tower.
Rob Batt, associate director of planning and construction for UCSD Housing, Dining and Hospitality Services, said some areas of the project will be completed before others, with the high-rise and landscape features being finished last.
“The lower buildings are nearing the point where exterior finishes will be applied and all interior spaces are being readied for drywall, painting, fixtures and cabinets,” Batt said. “The 14-story building continues to advance upward and should be reaching the top floor by the end of the year. Windows on the high-rise will be placed on the completed floors over the next month or so, and then the interior spaces will be readied for completion.”
Project Manager Mark Rowland said the construction team has met no significant problems with the project.
“We have been blessed with good weather and a good team effort,” he said. “We’ve had no major setbacks to date.”
The apartment-style rooms will be open to transfer students enrolled in any of the six colleges as a more affordable alternative to other private-sector residential locations in and around La Jolla.
In addition, university officials aim to use the housing as a way to help form a stronger connection between the UCSD campus and the transfer students who arrive from a wide variety of colleges.
The north campus development will also be the only housing complex at UCSD to offer a 12-month contract to individual students, as opposed to the nine-month offer found at other housing areas on campus.
The living spaces will be located alongside staff housing and a variety of retail buildings, including a satellite bookstore and a cafe.
Though the economic slump has affected many construction projects throughout California, the new transfer project, due to its extended planning period before construction began, has had difficulties with neither the funding nor the timeliness of the development.
“The economy for the most part has not impacted this project as the contracts and materials had been developed and secured almost 12 to 15 months ago,” Batt said.
