A former Jewish student center on Montezuma near San Diego State University is set to be demolished and redeveloped into an eight-story student housing building.
The plan has been in the works for four years, according to developer Weston Harmer, who presented a rendering of the incoming building at a College Area Community Planning Group meeting on Monday, Aug. 10.
It comes amid a spate of student housing construction around SDSU, including University Towers East, the lot next door to the College-Rolando Library, and a comprehensive redevelopment effort at SDSU Mission Valley.
While other colleges face declining enrollment, SDSU has had record-setting class sizes, with over 40,000 students enrolled in 2025.
The lot, which also includes a single-family home next door, is located on the corner of Montezuma and Rockford. Eight of the 78 incoming units in the building will be designated affordable.
The redevelopment, known as Maison, will not include parking. An early rendering shows a driveway with a loading zone for student drop off and a student shuttle service.
“This is the kind of development we want here. I hope we can get more like this near SDSU in the future,” said Lindsay Rodriquiz, a board member of the College Area Community Planning Group, during a presentation from Harmer on Monday.
The Jewish student center will still operate out of the first story of the development, once construction ends.
The Chabad House opened in 1977 as a synagogue and center for Jewish student life at SDSU. It has been the target of vandals in recent years, including the destruction of a large menorah out front.
Community members fundraised for a new, sturdier 1,500-pound menorah made of steel. The base of that 22-foot structure sits inside the construction fencing. It will be donated elsewhere in San Diego.
