UC Berkeley’s long-running housing crisis may finally be ending, as a wave of new construction projects is underway this year.

In a Monday announcement, the university said that this fall, it expects to finally achieve a “decade-long” goal of being able to offer two years of on-campus housing to first-year students. According to UC Berkeley, the university had the lowest percentage of beds for students out of all the UC campuses in 2016 — only about 22% for undergraduate students compared to the approximately 38% systemwide average at the time. 

This year, 9,700 undergraduate students live on campus, which is approximately 29% of its 33,000 undergrads. All the first-year students who applied for housing were able to get into the residence halls, and 90% of them live on campus, according to the university. 

The Bancroft-Fulton Student Housing building and the Judith E. Heumann House were the two projects that finally put the university over the line, UC Berkeley said. 

Construction on the Bancroft-Fulton housing complex, located on the southwest corner of the campus near Bancroft Way and Durant Avenue, started in January earlier this year. The complex is a 23-story high-rise with 1,625 beds that include triple, double and single rooms, as well as five apartments. The residence hall is also set to have several amenities, including a fitness center, study lounges and a terrace, according to the university website. The project is expected to be complete by summer 2028 for students to use during the 2028-29 academic year. 

The Heumann House, which is set to open in fall 2027, is an 11-story building that will have at least 1,100 beds, primarily for students in their second through fourth years. The complex also has a grab-and-go market on the ground floor, the university said. 

The university called the two projects a “milestone” but said it plans to continue working on additional housing projects, including a development on the corner of Channing Way and Bowditch Street. That building is expected to provide another 2,000 beds. 

UC Berkeley did not respond to SFGATE’s questions about the new projects before the time of publication. 

Before these buildings, the university recently completed one of its biggest housing projects in 2024, Anchor House, which is a lavish $268 million dorm in downtown Berkeley. 

UC Berkeley is also not the only campus in the university system that has grappled with a student housing shortage.