UC Riverside Plays 'Catch-Up'

Rapidly growing school has $121 million worth of projects in construction

By Mary Forgey

Construction of the second engineering building on the UC Riverside campus has reached its midpoint. The 158,000-sq.-ft. structure should be completed in March (rendering courtesy of UC Riverside).

University of California Riverside, which has doubled in student population in the past seven years, recently began the largest capital improvement program in its 50-year history.

"The last few years have seen tremendous student growth, but we are actually just playing catch-up," said Ted Chiu, UCR's associate director of design and construction. "We may see slower growth in coming years due to an enrollment freeze."

For now, though, the university is working hard to provide adequate and modern facilities for its 17,000-plus students. Chiu said that the school has six projects under construction on its 1,200-acre, park-like campus. Three of the projects are on campus, and three are off. Several other projects will probably begin this summer.

Largest project ever
The new projects include the $49 million Physical Sciences I building that will provide the chemical sciences department with 133,000 sq. ft. of classroom laboratories, faculty offices and research laboratories. The architectural team of Boston-based KMW and the Los Angeles office of HGA designed the four-story building.

Anaheim-based Pinner Construction started building the project in February 2003, and the anticipated completion date is December 2005.

New bio building under way
The Los Angeles office of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership has designed a second new science building on campus, the Biological Sciences Building.

The three-story facility will have 54,000 gross sq. ft. of faculty offices and research laboratories. The builder, ProWest PCM Inc. of Temecula, broke ground on the $18 million project in February and is scheduled to finish it in February 2006.

"This university is our No. 1 client," said Dan Polen, vice president of operations for ProWest. "Over the past six or seven years, we've done two housing projects for them."

Second engineering building reaches midpoint
A third project under way is the 158,000-sq.-ft., four-story Engineering Building 2.

The joint venture of Los Angeles-based RBB Architects and Portland, Ore.-based SRG Architecture designed the buildings. The Orange County office of San Francisco-based Swinerton Builders is the general contractor.

The $38.3 million building will provide the departments of computer science, engineering and electrical engineering with laboratories, administrative and, faculty offices and classrooms. Construction began in April 2003 and will be completed in March.

"UCR is a booming campus with a sophisticated building program," said Frank Foellmer, vice president and division manager in Swinerton's Irvine office. "The strong owner-architect team has made this a good project."

Activity in the desert
UCR has a satellite campus under construction in Palm Desert.

Two UCR buildings under construction there—the $10 million Richard Heckmann Center for International Entrepreneurial Management and the $8 million Palm Desert Education Center—will occupy 200 acres donated by the city of Palm Desert. The campus will offer international business programs to graduate students.

A $49 million building for physical sciences will have 133,000 sq. ft. of classroom laboratories, faculty offices and research laboratories. The anticipated completion date is December 2005 (rendering courtesy of UC Riverside).

A local businessman, Richard J. Heckmann, donated $6 million toward the construction of the building that bears his name.

Both buildings were designed by the joint venture of Detroit-based Rossetti and Glendale-based LHA Architects. San Diego-based Douglas E. Barnhart Inc. is the general contractor.

The Heckmann Center will be a two-story, 30,000-sq.-ft. structure. The Education Center will have 20,000 sq. ft. on two levels.

Starting this summer
Other building projects set to start this summer include the $37.5 million Genomics Building, which will have 110,000 sq. ft. on five floors, and the $44 million, Material Science and Engineering Building (134,000 sq. ft. on four stories). Renovations to the Geology and Physics buildings (122,000 total sq. ft.) will cost $15 million.

An architect or general contractor has yet to be selected for any of the projects, Chiu said.

Coming next year
San Francisco-based KMD is in the design phase for the $39 million Student Union/Commons Building, which will probably see construction begin at the end of the year. The updated and expanded version of the current facility will include food service, dining, games and conference areas and retail outlets.

"We have had some very good interaction with the students," said Elizabeth Chaney, director of academic and corporate practice for KMD and project manager for the building. "The students are very, very sophisticated and the university is sensitive to their desires. In fact, the students will come to San Francisco for a design meeting here at our offices."

Chaney said that the Student Union/Commons building will be LEED certified. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a "green" building rating system that assesses building performance and sustainability goals. Based on scientific standards, LEED emphasizes strategies for sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

ProWest will be the construction manager for the multi-prime project, and trade contracts should go out to bid in about a year.