California State University San Marcos poised to start first major construction project in more than 10 years
This summer, California State University Sam Marcos expects to break ground on a 70,000-gsf Integrated Science and Engineering Building. The three-story building will be the campus’ first large-scale construction project in over a decade.
The design firm HGA and general contractor C.W. Driver Companies are leading the building team on this project, which will support the university’s’ engineering and computer science programs. The building will include teaching and research labs, classrooms, student support areas, staff offices, and a café.
The new building will accommodate programs for electrical engineering, computer science, systems engineering, and software engineering.
To meet the university’s sustainability goals, the building will seek LEED Gold certification. Its design features outdoor gathering spaces, and the building will eliminate the use of natural gas and rely instead on a forthcoming solar project for renewable energy.
Growing enrollment a motivating factor
The university intends to showcase this building for student recruitment purposes—it wants to expand its engineering program to over 2,000 students, from around 300 today—and as an avenue to address regional businesses’ demand for engineers and computer scientists.
According to its website, the university has received $5 million in planning support for this building, and anticipates a $70 million-plus commitment for this project from the California State University system this year. The building is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2027.
This project was scaled back from the university’s earlier proposal, filed last July with the Governor’s Office under the California Environmental Quality Act, that called for a combined 125,000 sf on 2.46 acres and a 750-ft-long offsite utility tunnel on a 0.17-acre piece of land.
