The U

UCSD Workforce Development Accelerator and Community Arts & Culture Innovation Center (“The U”)

The University of California, San Diego will be extending its reach into downtown San Diego’s East Village neighborhood. As part of the University’s Extension School, UCSD will use this new strategically-located 66,000 sf. facility to create a Workforce Development Accelerator and Community Arts & Innovation Center at a site that is accessible to low-income community members via multiple public transit lines. This project will allow new populations and constituencies from San Diego’s Promise Zone and beyond to be brought into UCSD’s regional economic, academic and cultural spheres of influence. This includes a wide “lifespan” of individuals, from kindergarten through 50+ populations. The project will serve thousands of students and local community members annually with programs that allow unemployed and underemployed persons to achieve academic certificates and well-paying jobs on an accelerated basis.

Three Community Development Entities (CDEs) partnered to provide a total of $36 million in NMTC allocation, with U.S. Bank as NMTC investor, to finance acquisition costs and free up capital to support an extensive catalogue of educational programming.