UCSC Press Release: UCSC offers housing help to students

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August 24, 1999
Contact: Francine Tyler/Elizabeth Irwin (831) 459-2495; emirwin@cats.ucsc.edu
UCSC offers more beds, rental tips to help returning students
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA CRUZ, CA--Two years ago, students returned in September for the start of UC Santa Cruz's fall quarter and received a rude awakening. The houses, apartments, and private rooms off campus that had been readily available to rent in past years were suddenly hard to find.
"Students showed up in September as they'd been doing for two or three years before, and it was a problem," said UCSC housing marketing/Community Rentals coordinator Wanda Amos. "They assumed they could just go to their colleges and say 'I want to live on campus.' They couldn't, because we were already full."
It was UCSC's first encounter with the skyrocketing local housing market. Just the year before, there had been empty beds in campus housing when classes started.
UC Santa Cruz and sister campuses across the Bay Area are facing similar challenges, said Amos. Good economic times have driven rents upward by as much as 12 percent over the last two years and encouraged owners to take rentals off the market to sell.
To accommodate its new and continuing students, UCSC has increased its housing capacity by more than 700 bed spaces over the past two years--from 4,233 in 1997 to 4,949 this year. More than 220 of those bed spaces were generated this year alone.
The campus continues to house between 46 and 48 percent of its student body in university-sponsored housing--the highest percentage of any UC campus, said Carol Douglas-Hammer, marketing/contracts coordinator. Next highest is UC San Diego with 35 percent and UC Irvine with 30 percent.
In addition to the off-campus housing shortage, added services and amenities such as high-speed Ethernet connections and expanded meal plans in recent years help make the convenience of living on campus even more appealing to students, said Douglas-Hammer. "We have the largest population this year that we've ever had in university housing," she added.
UCSC expects to house approximately 5,300 of its students in university housing for fall quarter. It's too soon to know the exact figures, but current projections--based on the number of students who indicated their intention to register for fall classes--show a fall enrollment of 11,400, including 14 more freshmen and transfer students than the previous year. The exact numbers won't be known until mid-October, after the third week of classes.
UCSC continues to build its housing inventory by drawing on resources both on and off campus.
On campus, UCSC has converted single rooms in apartments and residence halls into doubles and doubles into triples. Many former lounges now sleep three or four.
It also opened a modular housing community, dubbed "The Village," in fall 1997 to house 170 continuing and transfer students.
At College Nine, construction is under way on apartments that are expected to open for 280 students as early as winter 2000. Students currently housed at The Village will move to the new facilities when they open, allowing the university to close the modular housing temporarily while construction of the Colleges Nine and Ten residence halls and dining facilities takes place on the site. The Village would reopen at another campus location in fall 2000.
"All of us in housing and at the colleges are doing everything we can to accommodate as many students as possible," said Douglas-Hammer. "It's been a real team effort."
Off campus, UCSC is leasing space and creating partnerships with local hotels and motels.
UCSC plans to open the University Town Center in downtown Santa Cruz this fall, with studio apartments for 80 continuing students and nearly 40 English Language International Program participants from UCSC Extension.
At the Holiday Inn, 611 Ocean Street, the campus has leased a three-floor block of 53 rooms, providing housing for 100 UCSC students. Students will pay $3,825 during the 1999-2000 academic year for a shared room at the "UCSC Inn"--$1,320 less than for a double room in an on-campus residence hall--and be eligible to purchase a campus meal plan. Rooms will feature small refrigerator/microwave units and a mix of hotel and university furniture. Student residential assistants and an on-site resident manager will help create a community atmosphere.
UCSC is also offering additional rental options through its Slug Housing Partnership Program, which provides housing in local motels on a month-to-month basis from September through March. The program is offering 234 rooms this year, up from 200 last year, with the potential to house 400 students.
"Programs like the University Town Center, UCSC Inn, and the Slug Housing program lead to UCSC having a real presence in the community off campus," said Amos. "What we want to do is ensure it's a positive experience for everyone involved."
UCSC is also anticipating future housing needs with construction projects that are in the planning process. Starting sometime in the 2001-02 academic year, the Colleges Nine and Ten residence halls--on the current site of The Village--are expected to provide bed spaces for 800 students. In 2002-03, the Cowell, Stevenson, and Porter apartments are scheduled to open, providing a total of 450 new bed spaces in apartment-style buildings.
In addition to providing more university-sponsored housing, UCSC is also stepping up efforts to help its students navigate the local rental market. The campus's Community Rentals Office, where students can find listings of rentals and learn tips to help their housing search, has expanded its summer hours and educational offerings.
At Community Rentals, students can learn about housing-search techniques, tenant/landlord agreements, and the rental process through either free workshops or a new videotape. They can also take a ten-minute taped tour of the office to learn more about its offerings--from how to read the rental listings to where they can find copies of local ordinances and laws.
Open from 10 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. weekdays and 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. Saturdays until October 2, and from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. weekdays thereafter, Community Rentals lists available rentals at no cost to property owners or managers.
For more information about how to list your rental apartment, home, or room with the Community Rentals Office, call (831) 459-4435 or go to the Community Rentals Web page at www.ucsc.edu/housing/housing/offcampus.html
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August 24, 1999 Contact: Francine Tyler/Elizabeth Irwin (831) 459-2495; emirwin@cats.ucsc.edu UCSC offers more beds, rental tips to help returning students FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SANTA CRUZ, CA--Two years ago, students returned in September for the start of UC Santa Cruz's fall quarter and received a rude awakening. The houses, apartments, and private rooms off campus that had been readily available to rent in past years were suddenly hard to find. "Students showed up in September as they'd been doing for two or three years before, and it was a problem," said UCSC housing marketing/Community Rentals coordinator Wanda Amos. "They assumed they could just go to their colleges and say 'I want to live on campus.' They couldn't, because we were already full." It was UCSC's first encounter with the skyrocketing local housing market. Just the year before, there had been empty beds in campus housing when classes started. UC Santa Cruz and sister campuses across the Bay Area are facing similar challenges, said Amos. Good economic times have driven rents upward by as much as 12 percent over the last two years and encouraged owners to take rentals off the market to sell. To accommodate its new and continuing students, UCSC has increased its housing capacity by more than 700 bed spaces over the past two years--from 4,233 in 1997 to 4,949 this year. More than 220 of those bed spaces were generated this year alone. The campus continues to house between 46 and 48 percent of its student body in university-sponsored housing--the highest percentage of any UC campus, said Carol Douglas-Hammer, marketing/contracts coordinator. Next highest is UC San Diego with 35 percent and UC Irvine with 30 percent. In addition to the off-campus housing shortage, added services and amenities such as high-speed Ethernet connections and expanded meal plans in recent years help make the convenience of living on campus even more appealing to students, said Douglas-Hammer. "We have the largest population this year that we've ever had in university housing," she added. UCSC expects to house approximately 5,300 of its students in university housing for fall quarter. It's too soon to know the exact figures, but current projections--based on the number of students who indicated their intention to register for fall classes--show a fall enrollment of 11,400, including 14 more freshmen and transfer students than the previous year. The exact numbers won't be known until mid-October, after the third week of classes. UCSC continues to build its housing inventory by drawing on resources both on and off campus. On campus, UCSC has converted single rooms in apartments and residence halls into doubles and doubles into triples. Many former lounges now sleep three or four. It also opened a modular housing community, dubbed "The Village," in fall 1997 to house 170 continuing and transfer students. At College Nine, construction is under way on apartments that are expected to open for 280 students as early as winter 2000. Students currently housed at The Village will move to the new facilities when they open, allowing the university to close the modular housing temporarily while construction of the Colleges Nine and Ten residence halls and dining facilities takes place on the site. The Village would reopen at another campus location in fall 2000. "All of us in housing and at the colleges are doing everything we can to accommodate as many students as possible," said Douglas-Hammer. "It's been a real team effort." Off campus, UCSC is leasing space and creating partnerships with local hotels and motels. UCSC plans to open the University Town Center in downtown Santa Cruz this fall, with studio apartments for 80 continuing students and nearly 40 English Language International Program participants from UCSC Extension. At the Holiday Inn, 611 Ocean Street, the campus has leased a three-floor block of 53 rooms, providing housing for 100 UCSC students. Students will pay $3,825 during the 1999-2000 academic year for a shared room at the "UCSC Inn"--$1,320 less than for a double room in an on-campus residence hall--and be eligible to purchase a campus meal plan. Rooms will feature small refrigerator/microwave units and a mix of hotel and university furniture. Student residential assistants and an on-site resident manager will help create a community atmosphere. UCSC is also offering additional rental options through its Slug Housing Partnership Program, which provides housing in local motels on a month-to-month basis from September through March. The program is offering 234 rooms this year, up from 200 last year, with the potential to house 400 students. "Programs like the University Town Center, UCSC Inn, and the Slug Housing program lead to UCSC having a real presence in the community off campus," said Amos. "What we want to do is ensure it's a positive experience for everyone involved." UCSC is also anticipating future housing needs with construction projects that are in the planning process. Starting sometime in the 2001-02 academic year, the Colleges Nine and Ten residence halls--on the current site of The Village--are expected to provide bed spaces for 800 students. In 2002-03, the Cowell, Stevenson, and Porter apartments are scheduled to open, providing a total of 450 new bed spaces in apartment-style buildings. In addition to providing more university-sponsored housing, UCSC is also stepping up efforts to help its students navigate the local rental market. The campus's Community Rentals Office, where students can find listings of rentals and learn tips to help their housing search, has expanded its summer hours and educational offerings. At Community Rentals, students can learn about housing-search techniques, tenant/landlord agreements, and the rental process through either free workshops or a new videotape. They can also take a ten-minute taped tour of the office to learn more about its offerings--from how to read the rental listings to where they can find copies of local ordinances and laws. Open from 10 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. weekdays and 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. Saturdays until October 2, and from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. weekdays thereafter, Community Rentals lists available rentals at no cost to property owners or managers. For more information about how to list your rental apartment, home, or room with the Community Rentals Office, call (831) 459-4435 or go to the Community Rentals Web page at www.ucsc.edu/housing/housing/offcampus.html ##### Press Release Home \| Search Press Releases \| Press Release Archive \| Services for Journalists
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