University of California, San Diego Workforce Development Accelerator and Community Arts & Culture Innovation Center

Close: December 2, 2020 

Cost: $63.4 million

BCCC NMTC Allocation: $11 million

Sponsor: University of California, San Diego

Investor: US Bank

Location: San Diego, CA

Description: The University of California, San Diego Workforce Development Accelerator and Community Arts & Culture Innovation Center (“The U”) will be a four story, 66,750 square foot integrated educational facility to house UC San Diego Extension’s programs. The U will focus on providing programs to allow unemployed and underemployed people to achieve academic certificates on an accelerated basis. The U will attract new constituencies, including under-represented populations such as the significant Latino community, and bring them into UC San Diego’s regional academic and cultural spheres of influence. This includes a wide "lifespan" of individuals, from kindergarten through 50+ populations.

The U is strategically located in San Diego’s East Village near multiple public transit lines purposely making it more accessible to low-income persons and low-income communities. It is estimated that 70% of The U’s students will be from low-income households.

A significant benefit of The U is it will integrate office space for non-profit agencies to support community engagement and educational support services. It will also create community space for theatre and exhibition galleries that will promote independent and documentary films as well as offering film proficiency programs. It is anticipated this community space will serve an estimated 50,000 people annually providing increased exposure for UC San Diego and its many programs and access to arts and culture the low-income community may otherwise not have access to.