UC Santa Barbara to spend $750 million to replace controversial dorm designed by billionaire

UC Santa Barbara says it will spend more than a half-billion dollars to construct new student dorms at the site it had set aside for Munger Hall, signaling a shift away from the contentious student dormitory that has seen extensive development delays and widespread backlash.

The new housing plans were detailed in a request-for-qualifications posting by the university seeking an executive architect to help construct 3,500 new bed spaces.

The description echoes a 2006 proposal to build traditional housing at the site, which was later scrapped in favor of Munger Hall.

UCSB sunk millions of dollars into the covert planning of Munger Hall, refining its unique, largely windowless design over the years with the assistance of private companies and architecture firms. The building plans included small bedrooms with artificial lights in lieu of windows, common areas, shared bathrooms and communal kitchens.

It’s unclear whether the efforts will amount to anything as UCSB apparently plans to invest as much as $750 million in the new housing endeavor.

What is Munger Hall?

Munger Hall is a nine-story residence hall for 3,500 students planned to address housing shortages, and billionaire Charlie Munger said he would donate $200 million toward the $1.4 billion project under the condition that his design is followed.

The project was nearing its second decade of development, inundated with backlash from students, staff and local officials who raised a slew of safety concerns surrounding the overcrowding of the building and the toll the lack of real windows could take on students’ well-being.

Developing both phases of the new student residences is expected to cost between $600 million and $750 million, according to UCSB. It’s a hefty price tag for a campus grappling with ever-growing expenses and stagnating state funding.

The sum is roughly half of what it would take to construct the same amount of beds via Munger Hall, but absent Munger’s expected substantial donation, it’s unclear whether the new project would be more cost-effective for the campus.

When asked about the apparent change in housing development plans, UCSB spokeswoman Kiki Reyes said the campus will “continue to work on the planning and consultation process for Munger Hall with members of our campus community, donors and stakeholders.”

“The university is also actively moving forward simultaneously with plans to develop (the new housing),” she added.

Noozhawk reached out to 15 campus executives, vice chancellors, directors and analysts involved in the planning of Munger Hall, and none had any comment as of Tuesday.

The UCSB Student Housing Infill & Redevelopment Project request for qualifications states that the project would add at least 3,500 undergraduate beds to the main campus.

The first phase would include housing for up to 3,000 students “along with supporting retail dining and recreational amenities.”

Phase 2 would add beds within an existing community of residence halls as part of the East Campus Infill & Redevelopment effort, according to the university.

Munger Hall had been a go as recently as May as members of the project team awaited design modifications intended to assuage critics’ concerns.

UCSB Chancellor Henry Yang had vowed to return to the University of California Regents this summer with updated plans for the dorm, but the sole summer meeting came and went without any public update.

Pressure has mounted on UCSB to add more student beds as the campus faces lawsuits from Santa Barbara County and the city of Goleta over its alleged failures to add sufficient housing for its growing enrollment.

In 2021, a housing crunch prompted the campus to house hundreds of students in local hotels for six months.

In the seven years since the initial announcement, Munger Hall saw its fair share of re-designs: from the coast to a half-mile inland; from two towers to a single massive building; and reduced from 11 stories tall to nine at the urging of the Federal Aviation Administration.

If campus officials were to pursue Munger Hall after the new housing project, they would face a number of new challenges.

UCSB would again need to raise roughly $750 million to put up against Munger’s donation to make construction feasible, a total set only to grow over time as the cost of construction continues to rise.

Finding another site for the roughly 1.5 million-square-foot building also would be no easy task; the California Coastal Commission already chafed at having such a massive structure near the coast, and building around large areas of protected wetlands and places known to contain indigenous remains present further difficulties for the university.

UCSB was unable to provide further details about the new housing project or the future of Munger Hall beyond its initial statement from the Public Affairs Office.