Background
In 2009, the Regents adopted the updated Long Range Development Plan for the Merced Campus (2009 LRDP).
The 2009 LRDP set forth a land use plan and principles for the development of the campus to accommodate 25,000 students by the year 2030 and detailed the second of four phases to accommodate 10,000 students by 2020 (2020 Project). While enrollment at the campus has continued on pace to reach 10,000 students in the 2020 time frame, funding for the campus facilities that are required to serve those students has not kept pace.
At present, the campus does not have enough space for its current enrollment in all categories of space and is faced with a growing gap between strong student demand for admission to UC Merced and the campus’ limited physical capacity to accommodate that demand. Development of the facilities necessary to accommodate 10,000 students is critical to the success of the Merced campus and its economic viability, and also to the ability of the University of California to provide access to eligible students.
Urban Land Institute Study
Considering the need to explore all options and alternatives to accomplish the physical development required to serve 10,000 students, Merced invited an Advisory Services Panel from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) to help identify the cost and programmatically effective means to build out the 2020 Project. The ULI report includes a set of guiding principles and recommendations to address the physical space shortfall and provide for growth, in particular by considering denser developments to optimize the existing infrastructure spine, moving additional administrative space off campus and consolidating off-campus space in a single location, and using public-private partnership approaches to deliver campus facilities.
