UC Merced named Plenary Properties Merced as the winning bidder for a $1 billion project that will nearly double the size of the campus.
It’s the first time the UC system has used a single developer for a multi-year, multi-building project of this scope.
Construction could start as early as September on a 219-acre site that would include classrooms, labs, dining halls, athletics, and living quarters.
Patti Waid with UC Merced says currently 6,700 students attend the university but the expansion will allow for many more.
“We hope to have closer to 10 to 11,000 students by 2021,” saus Waid.
According to Waid, the expansion will be a major economic boost to the region estimated at $1.5 billion along with thousands of jobs.
“The project is expected to create more than 10,000 construction jobs here in the San Joaquin Valley and more than 12,000 statewide,” says Waid.
UC Merced started in 2005 and is the only UC in the San Joaquin Valley.
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