Wes Swanson is a city and regional planning junior, and Max Hoffstadt is a city and regional planning junior. The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Mustang Media Group.
A widely publicized story revealed that Cal Poly plans to build a hotel, conference center and senior housing on two agricultural fields off Highland Drive. A few key aspects of the plan were left out of most reports: The proposal also includes 1,500 to 2,000 units of student housing, a childcare center and a grocery store.
This proposal is certainly not ideal, the primary concern being its location on valuable agricultural land which is frequently used for student research. But we believe that students and community members alike have a right to know what Cal Poly Partners and the university administration are planning, and the inclusion of student housing fundamentally changes our perspective on the project.
Valuable agricultural land should not be wasted on a development that does not materially benefit Cal Poly students, but the university also has an obligation to address the cost of living crisis for its students and faculty. If the university goes through with this project, it has an enormous opportunity and responsibility to make housing and groceries more affordable for the Cal Poly and greater San Luis Obispo community.
As city and regional planning students and California residents, we see and experience the affordability crisis every day. We know that the shortage of safe, secure, and affordable housing is a primary contributor to that crisis. Between 2015 and 2025, the average rent for a studio apartment in the city of San Luis Obispo increased by 113.8%. Meanwhile, average wages in San Luis Obispo County only increased by 49%. Studies have shown these massive increases in housing costs are in part the result of a serious shortage of housing.
In 2020, there were roughly 8,200 student-aged residents living within 0.5 miles of Cal Poly’s campus, excluding those living within University Housing dormitories. Adding 2,000 units could increase this number by 24%. Even better, adding 4,000 units could increase this by 48%. The addition of this much student housing at an affordable price, within walking distance of campus, would increase vacancy rates and force other landlords to compete for student renters and thus, radically transform the housing market in San Luis Obispo.
Additionally, only 31% of student-aged residents of San Luis Obispo currently live within 0.25 miles of a grocery store, and many of those students live near California Fresh Market and Lassen’s, which are far more expensive options. The addition of an affordable grocery store on Highland Drive would substantially improve access to affordable groceries for thousands of students.
If Cal Poly goes through with this project, we expect them to meet their projection of 2,000 student housing units, and we strongly encourage them to exceed that figure. These apartments should be priced below the market rate — unlike current University Housing, which is priced well above market rate.
The current plan put forth by Cal Poly Partners aims to price this new housing competitively, with rents cheaper than The Summit and Mustang Village. We must hold Cal Poly accountable to this goal. Deed restricting the rents of the new housing units to remain competitive with, or cheaper than, the city’s rental stock would ease the burden on every single renter in San Luis Obispo.
“The University is the largest landlord in San Luis Obispo County, and they distort the market by fueling demand while limiting supply,” said Barry Price, a cofounder of the SLO Tenants Union. “This drives up prices for the entire community, not just students and staff. If they were truly a trusted partner, they would do everything within their substantial power to lower costs for all of us rather than driving them ever skyward.”
While we cautiously support the ideas in this plan, we acknowledge that it is not unlike the university administration to put profit before its students and faculty and to poorly utilize its most valuable land closest to campus. The Vista Meadows faculty housing development, which is still under construction at the intersection of Slack Street and Grand Avenue, was originally planned to be hundreds of apartment units. It would bring an affordable option for Cal Poly faculty and staff, many of whom live 20 or more miles away from campus in order to afford a home. Instead, the plan was changed at the last minute to 34 single-family homes, starting at $749,500.
“If the goal of Vista Meadows was to create affordable housing options for faculty close to campus, it really misses the mark,” said Ryan Miller, a city and regional planning professor. “It’s an unfortunate underutilization of prime space at one of our few campus gateways that could have been used for many more smaller townhome or multifamily units that faculty and staff might actually be able to afford.”
Our message to university administration: Don’t “Vista Meadows” the West Campus. If you proceed with developing this site, make good use of our land to address student affordability, not solely to increase Cal Poly Partner’s profit margins.
If the university is unable to provide adequate housing and make good use of our land, they should stick to their existing master plan and build housing elsewhere on campus, where they have planned to build it for years. We think the university president’s house, which sits unoccupied in the campus core, might also make an excellent site for a hotel or conference center.
Cal Poly is one of the most desired schools to attend in the state, and it has the resources to offer high-quality education to many more students at a more affordable cost. If Cal Poly puts students before profit, it could become more equitable, diverse and better benefit the San Luis Obispo community. But it will only do that if we make our voices heard.