UCLA to build apartment building for faculty on Hilgard Avenue, Lindbrook Drive
By Martín Bilbao
Jan. 29, 2020 12:07 a.m.
UCLA plans to build a seven-story apartment building for faculty on a vacant lot on Hilgard Avenue by November 2022, according to a university environmental review notice.
The apartment complex, just over 1,000 feet south of campus, will feature up to 100 units in a 120,000-gross-square-foot space and an interior courtyard. The building, which will be at the intersection of Hilgard Avenue and Lindbrook Drive, will be 78 feet tall at most and also have a two-level underground parking garage, according to the notice.
Westwood is the most expensive neighborhood to rent in California, according to a study released in 2019. The university decided to build more faculty housing because demand outpaced supply, according to a university report.
A 2018 university task force determined that more affordable housing closer to campus is necessary to retain and recruit faculty. University housing is offered below market rate, making it a more affordable option for students and faculty.
There are currently 189 units of university housing offered to faculty, ranging from studios to condos to family homes. However, over 100 faculty members are typically stuck on waitlists each year, the report read.
The units at the new project are intended to meet a significant amount of faculty demand, however, the report also noted the waitlist for housing can grow up to 200 faculty members.
The Twenty-eighth Church of Christ, Scientist sold the roughly 26,000-square-foot lot to UCLA in August 2018, according to the notice. The church previously demolished its auditorium on the site in April 2017, according to the Los Angeles Conservancy.
UCLA has partnered with Moore Ruble Yudell Architecture & Planners, a Santa Monica-based architecture firm, to design the new project, according to the report. The university intends to start construction on the new project by October 2020 and complete it by November 2022.
The project is currently undergoing an environmental review in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act. The public can submit comments on the project until Feb. 15 by reaching out to Kathy FitzGerald, the director of project development for UCLA Capital Programs.
