Planning, Design & Construction conducted an assessment of College Building South and its neighboring buildings to allow campus leadership to make an informed decision on the disposition of those buildings.

The assessment was triggered by the rapidly deteriorating condition of College Building South, located at the southwestern portion of the core campus. The assessment also includes College Building North, the superintendent’s cottage and garage, and two additional 1916 accessory buildings.

The buildings face a significant backlog of deferred maintenance as well as seismic deficiencies. An engineering report found that the buildings would need to be retrofitted, repaired, or vacated by 2030 under the UC Seismic Safety Plan.

Built in 1916, the College Building South dates back to the university’s origins as the Citrus Experiment Station and served as the director’s residence. After the university’s founding, it was converted to classrooms and offices with the new connecting Cooperative Extension Building constructed in 1965, now known as College Building North. The building currently houses administrative and support space for the College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences and the Center for Ideas and Society.

College Building North houses the CNAS dean’s administrative space and additional office, research and support space.

As part of the assessment, Planning, Design & Construction considered four options including relocation, renovation, seismic repairs, or demolition of the buildings. The department is recommending demolition of the structures due to the high costs to implement for relatively small amount of programmatic space available for university functions.  That option would also allow for new higher-density construction with buildings that provide more purpose-built space for campus needs.

The campus community is invited to review and provide feedback on the assessment. Please email comments to jacqueline.norman@ucr.edu and leslie.rose@ucr.edu