New graduate housing community Verano 8 has grand opening

This week, UCI unveiled its latest graduate housing community, Verano 8. The Verano Towers add an additional 1,055 beds and a community center to the graduate and family housing inventory. The project was envisioned with the goals of affordability, community, inclusive design, sustainability and privacy. With these additional beds, UCI’s Student Housing has been able to extend the graduate housing guarantee to normative time to degree for Ph.D., law and Masters of Fine Arts students. These units allow UCI to offer the most comprehensive graduate housing guarantee in the UC system.

“Having a safe and comfortable home is essential to student success,” said Gillian Hayes, dean of the graduate division. “We have long been proud of our graduate housing communities, and this new development demonstrates our commitment to continued investment in the success of our graduate students. We are proud to be the only UC campus that is able to have enough housing to guarantee access for all of our Ph.D. and M.F.A. students for their expected time to degree.”

UCI has prioritized student housing in its long range plan and currently houses 44% of the total student population. Verano 8 graduate housing is below market, high-quality housing designed with graduate students who have families in mind.

“The Division of Student Affairs is thrilled to add the Verano 8 graduate housing complex to our existing stock of on-campus housing for UCI students,” said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Willie L. Banks, Jr. “This project adds an additional 1,000-plus beds to meet the needs of our graduate students and their families. Providing housing to our ever-growing student population is an integral part of the UCI experience and we are pleased to be able to enhance the student experience with the addition of the Verano 8 complex. We hope that Verano 8 will provide a space that our students will be able to live, learn, and thrive during their time at UCI.”

Verano 8 amenities include:

• Verano 8 graduate housing 1,055 beds in studios, 2-bedroom/1-bathroom and 4-bedroom/2-bathroom apartments
• Parking garage with space for 853 vehicles
• Community Center
• Building Maintenance & Operations facility
• 2 bedroom, 4 bedroom and studio
• Entrance lobby with spaces to relax and study
• Outdoor gathering spaces
• Study spaces on each floor
• Barbecues
• Dog park
• Half-court basketball
• Community garden
• Volleyball court
• LEED and FitWel Certified

See a one-minute video of Verano 8 at this YouTube link.