UCSD administration announced plans to potentially relocate Sixth College to the parking area situated between Thurgood Marshall College and Muir College two weeks ago. The proposal, originally presented to the Muir College Council by the Department of Physical and Community Planning, is part of a larger plan to accommodate more undergraduate students at the university.
The announcement came just months after UC President Janet Napolitano proposed to increase undergraduate enrollment by 10,000 across all UC schools in November.
Director of Physical and Community Planning Robert Clossin approached the council to inform students about the future additions to the UCSD campus according to the MCC’s Jan. 14 meeting minutes.
One of the items discussed by Clossin was a plan to “rebuild the [Muir Parking Lots] with 1800 undergraduate beds, learning facilities, a social science building [and] potentially a humanities building.”
Clossin added that the proposed space, dubbed the “Living Learning Neighborhood,” could possibly accommodate Sixth College and would include a new parking structure.
The minutes go on to say that the university aims to complete the project sometime during the 2019 Fall Quarter and that Clossin hopes the project will begin in a year or two.
However, the project currently has a “no time predicted” status, meaning no official timeframe has been set by the administration.
Third year Sixth College student and Sixth College Student Council President Justin Huynh stressed that the project is still in the early stages of the design and planning phase.
“[The Living Learning Neighborhood] is all still in talks, and it’s definitely not confirmed yet, so I don’t have too much information on it,” Huynh told the UCSD Guardian.
The master job list on the UCSD Facilities and Design Construction website lists the Living Learning Neighborhood project but shows that it does not yet have a designated manager.
When asked about the new project, students cited the current shortage of parking spots as a reason against the restructuring of the Muir Parking Lot.
“They better include as many parking spots as they do beds,” Marshall College senior Murad Khan said. “I mean, the parking situation is bad as it is.”
Other projects discussed at the meeting included a new Biological and Physical Sciences building for Fall Quarter 2018 and a new parking structure off of Osler Lane.
Sixth College, in its current location, will also serve as a stop for the Mid-Coast Corridor Light Rail, which will connect the UCSD campus along with the rest of the San Diego area by 2021.
Robert Clossin was contacted for comment but did not respond by press time.
