California students are getting slammed with college bills topping $50,000 a year — while the University of California system is dropping nearly $200 million on a luxury hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
UC Investments, the university system’s investment arm, has purchased the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay for a whopping $193 million, according to a report by Coastside News.
The 261-room coastal resort will join UC Investments’ portfolio, which is valued at more than $300 billion and helps fund retirement benefits and pensions for roughly 40,000 university retirees.
UC representatives declined to comment to the outlet.
The eye-popping purchase comes as the cost of attending several UC campuses has surged past $50,000 annually for California residents, raising fresh questions about affordability at a public university system long viewed as a pathway to an affordable college education.
The hotel deal could also come with some financial baggage. Its previous owner reportedly owed as much as $2.1 million in overdue hotel occupancy taxes.
Unlike university-owned hotels typically used for conferences and academic retreats, the Half Moon Bay Ritz-Carlton is intended strictly as an investment, a source told Coastside News.
The university could keep the Ritz-Carlton name and bring in the luxury brand’s management team to operate the property, according to another source who owns multiple hotels.
The resort is also a major player in the local economy, serving as Half Moon Bay’s largest employer and taxpayer, according to the report.
UC chief investment officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher has previously expressed interest in investing in local real estate, particularly in the Bay Area and affordable workforce housing, Coastside News reported.
The sprawling oceanfront property opened in 2001 and features 261 rooms, a full-service spa, multiple restaurants and sweeping views of the Pacific.
When it first opened, the resort boasted 93 fireplaces, six tennis courts and a 122-seat restaurant, with rooms reportedly going for as much as $3,000 a night.
But the plush property has also faced controversy over its coastal location, including concerns about erosion and rising sea levels.
Locals fought the resort’s development for decades, and in 2019 it was hit with a $1.6 million fine for blocking public access to a nearby beach.
The purchase comes as the UC system faces mounting pressure over its operating costs, including growing pension and retirement benefit expenses.
Housing and food costs have also helped drive up the price of a college education, leaving California families facing six-figure bills for a four-year degree at a public university.
Over four years, many in-state families will spend about $200,000, while out-of-state students can pay more than $300,000 when factoring in other costs like housing.
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