UCSB moves ahead with Munger Hall mega-dorm
UC Santa Barbara has released a notice of preparation for a new student housing development, Munger Hall, which was previously approved as part of the university’s Long Range Development Plan.
Munger Hall, when built, would increase the university’s on-campus housing by 50%, with single-occupancy rooms, and will allow the university to eliminate triple housing in its existing dorms.
Each resident would have their own bedroom within fully-furnished suites and “houses,” with eight rooms to a suite and eight suites to a house. The students would share amenities like full kitchens, smart TVs, laundry rooms, study spaces and lounge areas, with an entire floor in the building dedicated to additional shared amenities, like a fitness center, a café, a market, a full-service restaurant and other retail space. The first floor will include student services and classrooms, utility rooms, live-in staff apartments and a grand lobby entrance.
The construction of the hall will be unlike any other dorm at UCSB, or most other buildings in Santa Barbara. Modular residential units would be built elsewhere and brought to campus, where they would be installed on the building foundation, at about 25 units per week. At that pace, an entire residential floor of the building will only take about 20 working days of construction.
There are also two other housing projects ongoing at UCSB: about 70 units of for-sale faculty housing are currently under construction, and plans for 540 for-sale and rental housing units for faculty and staff are under way. Four additional redevelopment sites are also planned and will start after the 540 for-sale and rental units are finished.
