California college system drops $193M on sprawling cliffside hotel as in-state students fork over $50K a year on tuition

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.The biggest news, opinion and culture shaping California right now.

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Never miss a story 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...