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
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 2, 2013
6 lobby design tips
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
| Mar 14, 2013
25 cities with the most Energy Star certified buildings
Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago top EPA's list of the U.S. cities with the greatest number of Energy Star certified buildings in 2012.
Building Enclosure Systems | Mar 13, 2013
5 novel architectural applications for metal mesh screen systems
From folding façades to colorful LED displays, these fantastical projects show off the architectural possibilities of wire mesh and perforated metal panel technology.
| Feb 18, 2013
Top 10 kitchen and bath design trends for 2013
Gray color schemes and transitional styles are among the top trends identified by more than 300 kitchen and bath design experts surveyed by the National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA).
| Feb 15, 2013
Could the student housing boom lead to a bubble?
Student housing has been one of the bright spots in the multifamily construction sector in recent years. But experts say there should be cause for concern for oversupply in the market.
| Feb 8, 2013
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s new wing voted Boston’s 'most beautiful new building'
Bostonians voted the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's new wing the People's Choice Award winner for 2012, honoring the project as the city's "most beautiful new building" for the calendar year. The new wing, designed by Renzo Piano and Stantec, beat out three other projects on the short list.
