UCLA will convert a newly acquired Sawtelle multifamily complex into graduate student housing over the next few months.
UCLA purchased the building at 1775 Beloit Ave. in August for $8.5 million. The property is about three miles away from campus, and students will be able to move in in a few months, a UCLA Housing spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The acquisition – along with other purchases on Wilshire Boulevard, Venice Boulevard and Berryman Avenue – are part of UCLA’s goal to expand housing for graduate students, the spokesperson said in the statement. The university is converting Weyburn Terrace – which previously only served graduate students – from graduate housing into undergraduate housing over the next three years starting this fall, UCLA Housing announced in January.
[Related: UCLA to turn Weyburn Terrace from graduate to undergraduate housing]
“UCLA is taking a multifaceted approach to expanding its housing inventory, including new construction, redevelopment, and strategic acquisitions,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “The goal is to increase the overall supply of university-managed housing while making the best use of different properties to meet the needs of undergraduate and graduate students.”
The building has eight studio apartments and eight five-bedroom apartments – totaling 48 bedrooms, the spokesperson said.
The property was 50% occupied when UCLA purchased it, said Kitty Wallace, the vice president of real estate company Colliers International, which brokered the deal. She also said UCLA has the right to require current tenants to vacate the property but has not announced plans to do so.
Some UCLA students lived in the building before the purchase, she added.
The housing market in Westwood is competitive because of its location between the Interstate 405 and Bel Air, Wallace said. Providing affordable housing, she added, is imperative for students to be able to attend UCLA.
UCLA guarantees four years of housing for undergraduate students admitted as first-years and two years for transfer students, but it does not guarantee housing for graduate students. UCLA uses a lottery and waitlist system to assign housing to graduate students.
Kristian Suazo, the president of UCLA’s chapter of advocacy group Student Homes Coalition, said the purchase was a step in the right direction for creating affordable housing for students, but more work still needs to be done.
“It’s very expensive to get an education here in California,” said Suazo, a fourth-year labor studies and political science student. “We need to be more proactive with housing purchases. That way, students don’t have to pay aggressive amounts of rent to live in this beautiful area that we call Westwood.”
[Related: SB 79 takes effect, paving the way for more high-density housing in Westwood]
UCLA is also planning to build a 19-story apartment complex, which would house more than 1,000 students, on Levering Avenue. Constructing housing near Westwood, rather than just purchasing existing properties, could be a helpful step for UCLA to combat housing shortages for students, Suazo added.
“This purchase does show an area of growth,” he said. “Let’s get more housing, because change isn’t going to happen unless we fight for it.”
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