The University of California Board of Regents has unanimously approved an expansion of UC Merced that will nearly double that campus’ physical capacity by 2020 to facilitate enrollment to 10,000 students, up from 6,700 today.
UC Merced opened in the San Joaquin Valley in 2005, making it the first new campus in the University of California system in four decades. In recent years its application growth rate has been double the UC system’s average.
The Regents approval should lead to a formal project agreement next month, with groundbreaking scheduled for October. The university has entered into an “availability-payment concession,” a kind of private-public partnership, with Plenary Properties Merced, which was named development partner in June. Plenary will be responsible for design, construction, operations, maintenance, and partial financing of all new facilities over the 39-year term of the contract.
Upon expiration of the contract, UC Merced will assume maintenance of the buildings and land it will own.
As part of this agreement Plenary increased its investment in design and construction by $204 million. UC financing contribution will be $600 million. The total budget for this project’s design and construction is now $1.338 billion, up from the previously approved $1.142 billion.
The expansion will add about 1.2 million gross sf (790,000 of assignable square footage) of teaching, research, residential, and student-support facilities adjacent to the existing campus. The assignable space is less than the 918,000 sf originally planned, as UC Merced is emphasizing interdisciplinary learning and research, and requires a more flexible and efficient design for its future needs.
Design adjustments also allowed UC Merced to lower its financial commitment by nearly $9 million.
The first buildings should be completed by 2018. Webcor Construction is the general contractor. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill is the lead campus planner. And Johnson Controls is the project’s lead operations and management firm.
This phase of UC Merced’s 2020 Project Master Plan includes state-of-the-art research labs arranged around a new quadrangle and a multifunctional dining facility. The plan also calls for 1,700 beds, as well as classrooms, recreation fields, and a competition pool.
The expansion is projected to create more than 12,000 construction jobs, and produce a one-time statewide economic benefit of $2.4 billion, of which $1.9 billion should benefit the region alone.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jul 6, 2022
Wenzhou-Kean University opens a campus building that bridges China’s past and future
After pandemic-related stops and starts, Wenzhou-Kean University’s Ge Hekai Hall has finally begun to see full occupancy.
University Buildings | Jun 9, 2022
IDEA Factory at U. of Maryland defies gravity
The E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory at the University of Maryland’s A. James Clark School of Engineering has a gravity-defying form: The seven-story building’s solid upper floors emerge above the lighter, mostly glass base.
University Buildings | Jun 7, 2022
Newfoundland university STEM building emulates natural elements, local traditions
Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN) recently opened a new building that will provide interdisciplinary learning and research space for Faculties of Science and Engineering.
Museums | May 31, 2022
University of Texas at Dallas breaks ground on new 12-acre cultural district
The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas) recently broke ground on the Crow Museum of Asian Art, the first phase of a new 12-acre cultural district on campus.
Building Team | May 20, 2022
Caltech breaks ground on a new center to study climate and sustainability
The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) recently broke ground on its Resnick Sustainability Resource Center.
Laboratories | May 20, 2022
Brutalist former Berkeley Art Museum transformed into modern life science lab
After extensive renovation and an addition, the former Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive at the University of California, Berkeley campus reopened in May 2022 as a modern life science lab building.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | May 19, 2022
Northern Arizona University opens a new training center for its student athletes
In Flagstaff, Ariz. Northern Arizona University (NAU) has opened its new Student-Athlete High Performance Center.
University Buildings | May 16, 2022
Yale’s newly renovated Schwarzman Center enriches student campus social life
Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA) recently unveiled the design of their restoration of the Schwarzman Center at Yale University, which includes dining spaces, a bar, and a food shop.
School Construction | May 11, 2022
New Digital Learning Commons at Rutgers supports doctoral programs in over 16 disciplines
The new Digital Learning Commons at the Rutgers University Archibald S. Alexander Library provides students in over 16 courses of study and four professional schools with spacious collaborative and study space.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | May 10, 2022
Designing smarter places of learning
This course explains the how structural steel building systems are suited to construction of education facilities.
