The following is a press release issued by Mendocino College:
Mendocino College is pleased to announce the purchase of a property at the corner of Perkins and Main Streets in downtown Ukiah, marking the first phase of a multi-year initiative to develop future student housing. This project aims to increase the availability of affordable housing for students and support the local community.
The acquisition of this property is made possible through the generous support from the Mendocino College Foundation and its dedicated donors. The Foundation provided the funding to purchase the property from Redwood Credit Union, and will continue to support the project with additional multi-million dollar contributions for the construction phase. The Foundation has a long-standing commitment to stewarding funds responsibly to support the long-term needs of students, and this project is a testament to their role as a trusted donor partner.
“The Mendocino College Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that donor dollars are used effectively to support the long-term needs of our students,” said Julie McGovern, Executive Director of the Mendocino College Foundation. “This project is a perfect example of how we can make a lasting impact on our students’ lives and the community.”
Student housing at California community colleges offers several benefits, including improved academic performance, stability, and addressing broader housing shortages. Studies show that students who live near campus tend to have higher GPAs and are more likely to graduate. Affordable student housing provides stability, allowing students to focus on their education without the stress of housing insecurity. By offering student housing, community colleges help address broader housing shortages in their communities, contributing to socioeconomic mobility.
Mendocino-Lake Community College District has been investigating options to construct student housing since 2018. In 2022, we received an affordable housing planning grant, part of SB 196, from the California Department of Finance. A student housing feasibility study was completed in 2022-2023, which included a survey of currently enrolled students. Key findings of the survey were:
- 97% of students think student housing would be important for retention and recruitment.
- 44% of students currently enrolled less than full-time would enroll full-time if Ukiah offered student housing.
- Over 8% of students are housing insecure, including homelessness, inability to pay rent or utilities, frequent moves, or residing in unsafe conditions.
- There is an acute shortage of rentals in Ukiah, with rental vacancy rates at 2.8%.
- 75% of housing units in unincorporated Mendocino County are single-family (detached), while only 3% are multi-family (2-4 units) and 3% are multi-family (5+ units).
“We conducted extensive studies to identify the housing needs of our students and determined that a downtown Ukiah location was the best option,” said Tim Karas, President/Superintendent of Mendocino College. “This particular location will provide students with access to downtown services as well as easy transportation to the college campus.”
In July 2023, a competitive grant application was submitted to the California Community College Chancellor’s Office to fund a $54M 110-bed student housing project in Ukiah. Although our project was not funded in the 2024/2025 California State Budget, we remain committed to making progress. A historic milestone was achieved in February 2025 with the Mendocino College Foundation purchasing a parcel of land for future student housing. With this critical step, we can move forward to investigate all funding options available to move the project forward.
“We are excited to take this important step towards addressing the housing needs of our students,” said Rose Bell, Director of Communications at Mendocino College. “We are committed to being a good community partner and will keep the community informed throughout the project’s development.”
We are proactively collaborating with the City of Ukiah to find effective parking solutions, and address any concerns about high-density housing downtown. We are committed to transparency and want to set realistic expectations: construction is anticipated to begin in a few years as we continue to secure the necessary funding for the project.
Mendocino College is dedicated to maintaining open communication with the community and ensuring that this project benefits both students and local residents. We look forward to a time when our student housing residents will bring vibrancy to the city core, support local businesses by shopping at nearby stores, dining at cafes and restaurants, and utilizing services within walking distance from their housing. As students pursue their education, they will contribute to the overall strength and vitality of our county.
Omg! Amazing! i wonder if they purchased the lot of the old location of the Dragon’s Lair. Idk what else is available at that corner.
Are you serious? Finally!!!
My first thought was it seemed like an odd place for student housing. The lot doesn’t seem large enough to make it cost effective, unless they plan on going vertical. You would think something closer to the school would be better for the students, like SRJC’s new student housing. It will be interesting to see what plan they come up with. I’m sure RCU is happy to get out from under that property.
aesthetically that’s not gonna be the hometown spirit how in the world are you gonna put enough student housing on that tiny lot unless you go vertically? That’s gonna go right along with the new courthouse I guess ugly ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly my poor little hometown. It seems like it would be more efficient to go out and be next to the college.
This lot is already in an area where they’re city utility hook ups, sidewalks, shops, and public transit. It would bring new blood to the downtown core area. Placing the dorms right next to the college would require more surroundings infrastructure and possibly more parking lot since it would be more than walking distance to the nearest grocery stores, entertainment and healthcare facility.
Let the students spend money in our newly walkable down town. Makes beautiful sense. Something right yay.
Seems like an odd choice of location for student housing, a location more suited to commerce. And is it also exempt from property taxes? If so, the city is scratching one more commercial lot from its revenue stream.
Keep in mind most property taxes go to Schools, but sales tax is where the city will see much larger returns. Students living close to the city center where they shop and indulge in local cuisine/entertainment will contribute more to the tax base than placing the dorms several miles up the road away from most of the shopping and entertainment venues.
The old Jensens Restaurant might be good too.
Maybe…
Looks like a car dependent heavy area around Jensen’s. Not to mention it is between an auto repair shop and a gas station.
But close to restaurants, barbers, laundry, and grocery stores.
Hell I don’t know,
Never mind
I lived in the area of college off campus housing. Nothing but wild parties, drugs and unsafe driving. Hang on to your hats UPD, if this goes through you will be looking at a headache.
That’s why you put the student housing in a place where parking lots won’t be a necessity. Walking home from a bar is far better than driving home from one. Plus the police station is a mile away from the dorms.
All that already exists
They have to be kidding. What a terrible idea.
What’s terrible about it? Students eat out, there’s plenty of restaurants in the area so more business for them. It’s across the street from a library, which could be useful for some students. Close to a bus stop, and The Dragons Lair is sitting empty. Placing it there, along with the new courthouse, could stimulate new development for other businesses along that stretch of Perkins.
Not sure what you think is bad about any of that. The only issue I foresee is that Perkins is a terrible road to drive on during busy periods of the day. I swear they’ve designed the intersection to allow less than 5 cars to pass at a time. But that’s something they could experiment with and hopefully improve.
I agree. Ukiah, especially downtown, is almost designed for one way traffic flows. Many downtowns in major cities are one way streets and Ukiah could go the same way if the downtown develops over time. I.e. student housing and / or higher density development.
If MC is serious about building student housing South of the Ackerman Creek bridge, then upgrading the Ackerman Creek bridge to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles traffic should become a high priority.
It is the last real bottleneck for “safer” passage along N State St from Ukiah to the College.
People, not in vehicles, pass there all day/night but it is quite sketchy.
The Great Redwood trail goes up to Brush St. for now but with the right funding could be the answer to this Ackerman Creek gap.