Honoring the education legacy of University Heights

In 1897, far-sighted San Diegans planned a teachers’ college in University Heights. In 2025, far-sighted San Diego Unified leaders want to repurpose that land to address the affordable housing crisis.

The Keystone Education District honors and adds to this legacy by delivering more affordable housing for educators than any other proposal. Inspired by the public service of our educators, Keystone was designed to provide the highest and best use of this once-in-a-generation public asset. 

Keystone also preserves the building known as “Annex 2,” the Birney Elementary School Kindergarten Building from 1936, a valuable example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture from the New Deal-era Works Progress Administration (WPA). Designed by master architect William Wheeler, the building is eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources.

Once refurbished, Annex 2 will serve as an on-site childcare center and early learning center that directly serves teachers, staff, and families. Instead of sitting underused, the building will be rehabilitated and activated to provide licensed childcare on-site—something nearby schools and educators consistently say they need but rarely have access to close to work.

For teachers, this is a real quality-of-life improvement. It means shorter drop-offs, fewer cross-town commutes between school and childcare, and the ability to stay later for conferences, rehearsals, or student performances knowing their children are close by. By reusing Annex 2 for childcare, Keystone supports teacher retention, strengthens the campus as a family-serving place, and ensures an existing school facility continues to serve education—not just in theory, but every single day.