Location:
Student and Workforce Housing Development Conference and Expo
Los Angeles, CA
Speaker:
Brendan Connolly, Elizabeth Hearn, Nick Wai-Poi, Simone Barth
Date & Time:
05.07.2026 | 4:10pm-5:00pm
Urban campuses across the country are under extraordinary pressure to deliver more beds, deeper affordability, and stronger student support, often on constrained sites in some of the nation’s most expensive housing markets. What does true innovation look like in this environment?
Join Mithun’s Brendan Connolly, Elizabeth Hearn, Nick Wai-Poi and Simone Barth for “Innovations in Affordable Urban Campus Housing” to explore emerging strategies in affordable urban campus housing through the lens of Gayley Towers at the University of California, Los Angeles. Located in Westwood, the eight-story, 585-bed development demonstrates how design, policy alignment and delivery strategy can converge to expand access while improving student outcomes. Panelists will examine how architectural decisions influence operating costs, how the capital stack supported deep affordability in a premium urban market, and what elements of this model can be replicated at other institutions facing similar constraints. Attendees will leave with practical insights into scaling affordable housing in urban campus environments where land is scarce, costs are high, and innovation is no longer optional.
UCLA associate vice chancellor design & construction Peter Hendrickson will also serve as a panelist.
Date Posted: 05.07.2026
