Lieutenant Governor Tours UC Irvine Housing Site as Campus Plans 300 New Beds

California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis visited the site of a new student housing project at the University of California, Irvine's Mesa Court on April 10. Irvine Mayor Farrah Khan and Vice Mayor Tammy Kim joined her for the visit.

According to a UCI press release, the university has received approval from the UC Regents to add about 300 residence hall beds for undergraduates to the Mesa Court complex. The Regents signed off on the project in March. It carries a total price of $80 million, of which $65 million comes from California's Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program. Tim Trevan, assistant vice chancellor for student housing, said the new housing is expected to open in fall 2026.

The expansion fits into a broader UC Regents plan to add 8,000 on-campus beds across the university system. The Regents have also set a system-wide target of 22,000 additional beds at the nine undergraduate UC campuses by fall 2028.

Demand at UCI is rising. The campus received more than 143,000 applications for the fall 2023 quarter, which is the highest number in its history for the third consecutive year.

Speaking with the student newspaper New University, Kounalakis praised the school and argued for state investment. "UC Irvine is an extraordinary university. It's the students and the faculty that make it that way, but the state needs to invest everything we can to help support the extraordinary educational experience that UC Irvine can provide," she said. She described the UC system as "a giant conveyor belt of talent" and stressed the need to support students in public higher education.

Willie Banks, vice chancellor of student affairs, also backed the expansion and said UCI has "a number of plans" to increase student housing. "Anything we can do to help provide housing for incoming students or just students in general is going to be helpful," he said, adding that the university is thankful the Regents approved the project.

Khan said the university's growth is closely tied to the growth of the city. She noted that UCI's reputation draws applicants and new residents, and said the city is now working harder to add housing. "This work should have been done 10, 15, 20 years ago," she said, adding that she hopes current actions will eliminate the need in the future.

Kim said hers was the only Irvine City Council office to send a letter to the UC Regents supporting the project. She pointed to the problem of student housing insecurity, citing cases of "upwards of six to eight students shacking up in a one-bedroom apartment." She said the goal is for students to focus on their studies and not worry about where they will sleep at night.

Celina Tiqui, a fourth-year English and education sciences student who works as a Resident Advisor at Mesa Court, agreed. She said on-campus housing helps ease housing insecurity and spares students from turning to a third party such as American Campus Communities.

Kounalakis had a message for students struggling amid the housing crisis. "We're doing everything we can to respond to the voices who've made it clear that this is a critically important part of access to higher [education]. Persevere," she said, calling students "the pride of our state."