San Diego State University has inked a deal to start teaching classes inside Chula Vista’s new Millenia Library, a major milestone in the city’s long-running quest to land four-year programs in the South Bay. The plan is to tuck SDSU’s nursing and Global Campus offerings into the four-story Millenia building, with organizers eyeing fall 2026 for the first wave of students.
Lease details and space
At its April 14 meeting, Chula Vista’s City Council signed off on a 10-year lease for SDSU at the Millenia site. The agreement lets the university use about 6,505 square feet of indoor space, plus an approximately 718-square-foot patio at 1775 Millenia Avenue. Under an earlier letter of intent, the city also agreed to pick up the tab for tenant improvements in the SDSU area, according to a city staff report.
University and city leaders made it official on Friday by signing a memorandum of understanding. SDSU President Adela de la Torre told the crowd, "Today feels different, and I think you can feel that. This is not just another announcement." The Millenia location is slated to host an accelerated second bachelor’s degree in nursing that aims to enroll about 50 students in its first cohort, backed by nearly $3 million in state funding secured by Assemblymember David Alvarez, according to SDSU News.
Why it matters for South Bay students
The move plugs directly into a broader, state-backed push to create a multi-university footprint in Chula Vista. A new 14-member task force is now studying land use, governance and financing options for bringing a public university to the city. The group, which includes SDSU leadership and regional college partners, held its first meeting earlier this week, as reported by KPBS.
When classes could start
Officials say the SDSU nursing track will run as a hybrid, cohort-based, pre-licensure program, pairing online coursework with in-person labs and clinical placements across San Diego County. The accelerated format can be wrapped up in roughly 18 months, according to SDSU News. The Millenia Library itself is expected to finish construction this summer, which would allow the lower-level classrooms to open soon after, according to BuildSD.
"We are turning our vision of a four-year university in Chula Vista into reality," Mayor John McCann said at the signing ceremony, casting the lease as an early step toward a future University-Innovation District, as reported by the City of Chula Vista. City and university officials will now hammer out tenant improvements and begin recruiting students, a next phase that was highlighted in local coverage of the event by NBC 7 San Diego.
