Construction Begins on Largest US Student Housing Project
The first 1,000 beds of the student housing expansion initiative are expected to be delivered for the start of the Fall 2020 academic year.
DAVIS, CA—The University of California Davis have commenced construction on a $575-million planned 3,300-bed expansion to the university’s West Village neighborhood here.
UC Davis says the expansion project in this Sacramento suburb is the largest student housing project currently being developed in the nation. The first 1,000 beds of the student housing expansion initiative are expected to be delivered for the start of the Fall 2020 academic year.
Back in December, University Student Living, LLC, the private-sector development partner of the UC Davis closed on the $575 million in financing. Funding for the full $575 million in project costs will come from the proceeds of a tax-exempt bond sale, the largest bond sale ever in the US for a single project.
The developer for the project is The Michaels Organization of Marlton, NJ.
Architectural and engineering firm Stantec of Edmonton, Canada is providing lead architectural, interiors, buildings engineering and landscape architecture services for the project. CBG Building Co. is the general contractor for the student housing project.
“Increasing our on-campus housing inventory for our students has been a goal for us for many years,” said Emily Galindo, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs at UC Davis. “Moving the project into construction is an important and exciting step forward.”
The new housing has a goal of reaching 100% net-zero energy efficiency on an annual basis. The project, to be developed on 34 acres, will consist of nine four-story apartment buildings along with indoor and outdoor community space and recreational fields. A 10,000-square-foot community building is also planned. The building will house a fitness center, a multipurpose room and student support services. Originally, the West Village expansion was planned for 1,875 beds. However, UC Davis, The Michaels Organization and Stantec worked together to develop a plan that provides reduced space for student vehicles and more living space, allowing for substantially more residential units, Stantec officials state.
“This revised approach strengthens the pedestrian and bike culture of the overall campus and will promote a strong communal environment for the enrichment of the student residents,” says Sean Studzinski, Stantec principal, National Residence Life.
When complete, the new apartment communities at West Village will be owned by the non-profit Collegiate Housing Foundation, which will hold the ground lease from the University of California. Once the community is operational, the staff and resident life programming will be under the auspices of the university, while University Student Living will provide property and facility management.
UC Davis also selected University Student Living to bring new housing on the former site of Orchard Park Apartments, aging on-campus housing that was demolished last year. That development will provide at least 200 affordable, two-bedroom apartment units to serve UC Davis students with families and accommodation for more than 700 single graduate students.
Stantec will be collaborating with The Michaels Organization on the Orchard Park apartment expansion at UC Davis. Stantec is providing interior design, along with landscape architecture and site planning.
Another major project for Stantec is the largest construction project in the history of the Chicago Transit Authority where it will serve as lead designer. The CTA in January selected the Design-Build Team of Walsh-Fluor, which includes Walsh Construction and Fluor Enterprises, Inc. as the lead contractors, to provide engineering, design and build services for Phase One of the $2.1-billion Red and Purple Modernization Program. The project will reconstruct, modernize and build 1.9 miles of elevated tracks, including bridges and support structures along Chicago’s busiest transit corridor. The design will also include reconstruction and modernization of the four of the oldest rail stations on the Red Line.
Earlier this month, The Michaels Organization, successfully closed on $61 million in financing for Mission Trail at El Camino Real, a new mixed-income housing community in San Marcos, TX that will be developed to serve that city’s growing workforce.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the project is planned for this spring, with pre-leasing beginning in the fall of this year.
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