Bogard Blog | September 2026
Safeguarding Santa Cruz’s Future
Some of Santa Cruz’s biggest challenges are not always visible. Below ground, seawater intrusion threatens a vital source of drinking water. Across town, high housing costs make it increasingly difficult for students and employees to live near the institutions they support.
This summer, our team reached important milestones on two projects responding directly to those pressures. The Pure Water Soquel Education and Operations Center and UCSC Delaware Housing serve different purposes, but both represent meaningful investments in a more secure and livable future for the community we call home.
Supporting Pure Water Soquel: From Operations to Outreach
Pure Water Soquel is an innovative response to a serious regional threat.
The Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Basin is Soquel Creek Water District’s sole source of drinking water and an important resource for other local water agencies and private well owners. Years of overdraft have lowered groundwater levels, allowing seawater to move inland and contaminate coastal wells.
Pure Water Soquel is designed to help reverse that trend. The project reclaims approximately 25 percent of the eight million gallons of water treated each day at the Santa Cruz Wastewater Treatment Facility that would otherwise be discharged into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The water then undergoes an advanced purification process using microfiltration, reverse osmosis, and ultraviolet light with hydrogen peroxide before being delivered to recharge wells. There, it replenishes the basin and creates a freshwater barrier against further seawater intrusion.
This forward-thinking approach has attracted attention far beyond Santa Cruz. Pure Water Soquel was featured in the BBC StoryWorks series Beneath the Surface: The Journey of Water. It was one of just two projects from the United States included among 16 water-sustainability stories from around the world.
While the neighboring Water Purification Center handles the advanced treatment process, the new Education and Operations Center will give the program both an operational home and a welcoming public face.
Bogard Construction served as Construction Manager at Risk for the $3.36 million transformation of a former glass showroom, shop, and office building beside the purification facility. The renovation includes offices and shop space for operations staff, an education center, multipurpose and conference rooms, site improvements, and an outdoor tasting station where visitors can experience the finished water firsthand.
Our involvement began during preconstruction, when we joined Soquel Creek Water District and Paul Burgin Architecture to provide cost estimates, value engineering, constructability reviews, and scope coordination. Now complete, the building serves as the long-term base for daily operations and public education.
Expanding Housing on Santa Cruz’s Westside
Across town, the challenge takes a different form.
In May, UC Santa Cruz and its partners celebrated the completion of the Delaware Addition Apartments, a 161-unit development spanning three five-story buildings near Delaware Avenue and Swift Street.
Bogard Construction served as owner’s representative for UC Santa Cruz Physical Planning, Development and Operations throughout construction, representing the university’s interests and helping prepare the development for its transition into operation.
The apartments will house approximately 350 upper-division students and more than 60 university employees. Parkside at Delaware welcomed student residents beginning with the 2026–27 academic year, while Seaside at Delaware will serve UCSC employees.
The development offers convenient access to Metro and campus transit, the Coastal Rail Trail, and nearby university destinations including the Coastal Science Campus, Westside Research Park, and Institute of the Arts and Sciences. Shared spaces and bicycle facilities support an active, connected lifestyle, while dedicated surfboard storage adds an unmistakably Santa Cruz touch.
That detail may be playful, but the development’s larger purpose is serious. Limited housing and rising costs make it difficult for students and employees to live near the places where they learn and work. Student residences are about 20 percent below market rate, while employee apartments are about 5 percent below market rate. Seven employee residences meet the City’s affordable housing designation, and another 12 are available to moderate-income employees.
The same pressures are shaping another project our team is helping bring to life. Santa Cruz City Schools’ first Educator Housing Community will create 100 below-market-rate homes for teachers and district staff. Like UCSC Delaware Housing, this initiative highlights an increasing awareness of housing as critical infrastructure, one that empowers students, reinforces the local workforce, and enables community members to maintain deep roots in Santa Cruz.
Building What Santa Cruz Needs Next
Water and housing may seem like separate issues, but both are central to Santa Cruz’s long-term resilience. One project protects the groundwater supply the region depends on. The other expands housing opportunities for the people who study and work here.
For our team, this summer’s milestones reflect a continued commitment to turning essential priorities into lasting places and systems that will serve Santa Cruz for generations to come.
