Dear students, faculty and staff:
I am very pleased to report major progress in our efforts to secure approval from the UC Board of Regents for the 2020 Project, our proposal to double the size of campus facilities by 2020.
Today, two key committees of the board provided preliminary approval of all essential provisions of our proposal, including the budget and commercial terms. They also found the approach we are using — a form of public-private partnership — to be “in the best interests of the university.” Their recommendation to approve will be taken up by the full board at its meeting tomorrow. We are optimistic the board will concur, allowing us to move to the Request for Proposals (RFP) phase.
This is the outcome we’ve been working toward for more than two years. While additional approvals will be required in the coming months, as outlined below, today’s vote of support by the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Grounds and Buildings is a very positive endorsement of the development model we’re proposing. We are confident it will allow us to add much-needed facilities more rapidly and cost-effectively than traditional development methods.
Today’s vote also keeps us on track to begin construction by next summer. Our goal is to complete the first buildings by 2018, with the balance available by 2020. The total project will add 919,000 assignable square feet of classroom, laboratory, housing and student life facilities, allowing enrollment to grow to 10,000 students within the next five to seven years.
As discussed in my campus update last month, the development model we are using will employ a single private development team to design, build, operate and maintain the entire project through a long-term contract. The selected developer will also provide partial financing to supplement state and UC funding. This model, known as an “availability-payment DBFOM,” builds on alternative models used at other UC campuses in recent years, but it is the first to include long-term operation and maintenance provisions as part of the contract. We strongly believe this feature will ensure our new facilities are designed and built to high standards and will be maintained in top operating condition, thus eliminating the need for major maintenance reserves for the life of the contract.
Pending formal approval of the full board tomorrow, we will release the RFP to three multifaceted teams that have already completed the rigorous prequalification process. Selection of the preferred developer will occur early next year, following a process outlined in my campus update. The Board of Regents will be asked to approve external financing in May and the basic design approach in July. During this timeframe, the detailed project agreement — a 39-year contract between the university and the developer — will be executed by UC President Janet Napolitano. Construction can then begin.
This expansion is critical to our mission of research, education and public service and is essential to attaining “critical mass” as a small but highly focused research university. The 10,000-student level will provide financial self-sufficiency, operational efficiencies and a strong base for academic and research pursuits that will bring distinction to UC Merced and its talented faculty and staff in the great UC tradition.
It is extremely gratifying that the Board of Regents’ committees have endorsed our development model as the best way to satisfy our space requirements quickly and efficiently. We think others within the UC system, and perhaps more broadly in the field of higher education, will take note of the many benefits this approach affords. In the words of UC President Janet Napolitano, “I commend Chancellor Leland and the UC Merced team for their leadership in developing a cost-effective solution for expanding the campus’s capacity to serve California.”
I would also like to commend the UC Merced team involved in planning the 2020 Project, and to thank everyone for your patience and support as we work through the final stages of this lengthy process. While we still have a few more hurdles to clear, I am more encouraged than ever that our campus can build on a strong record of achievement to date and look to the future with optimism and pride.
Sincerely,
Dorothy Leland, Chancellor
