Planning Design and Construction Latest News

Campus power system gets a boost

UC Riverside’s electrical system is getting an upgrade. An electrical infrastructure project underway for over a year will provide the campus with more reliability, capacity, and safety, said Drew Hecht, director of project management for the Office of Planning, Development, and Construction. “This is a huge step forward for the campus – reducing...

By Imran Ghori |

Eucalyptus Walk temporarily closed for replacement project

A UC Riverside walking path between the Barn and Rivera Library will be closed for the early part of 2022 due to a walkway replacement and infrastructure tunnel repair project. Pedestrians who regularly use the 350-foot section of the Eucalyptus Walk to connect to Rivera, Watkins Hall, and Olmstead Theatre are advised to use an alternative route...

By Imran Ghori |

Teaching in the round

When Abhijit Ghosh teaches in the in-the-round lecture hall at UC Riverside’s Student Success Center, he doesn’t stand still. With a microphone on his lapel and an iPad in hand that he uses to control the audio-video system, Ghosh walks the aisles of the 404-seat hall during his “Earthquake Country” course, in which he teaches the fundamentals of...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR plan anticipates next phase of campus growth

UC Riverside has completed its 2021 Long Range Development Plan, or 2021 LRDP, a guiding document that will set the stage for the campus to grow student enrollment to 35,000 by 2035. The plan, which was approved by the UC Regents on Nov. 18, also anticipates adding 5.5 million gross square feet in instructional and residential space to support the...

By Imran Ghori |

New projects create a changed campus landscape

UC Riverside’s campus is a changed landscape for many students and employees who returned last month. Several major new buildings and projects have been completed over the last 18 months, including housing, instructional, parking, and research facilities. “Students and employees came back to a completely different campus,” said Drew Hecht, co...

By Imran Ghori |

New School of Medicine building begins construction

UC Riverside began construction Friday, Oct. 22 of a new School of Medicine building that will allow for growing class sizes and increasing the number of physicians trained in the underserved Inland Southern California. Campus and community leaders celebrated the start of the project at a groundbreaking ceremony at the project site south of the...

By University Communications |

Renovated Pierce Hall now open to students

Pierce Hall has opened to students for the fall quarter with a whole new look. One of UC Riverside’s oldest buildings, it underwent a nearly two-year renovation that was completed earlier this summer. Faculty and staff members finished moving into the building a few weeks ago. The outside building now features a fresh coat of paint and new lighting...

By Imran Ghori |

“A+++”: North District opens to students

Abigail Osunde excitedly took in her new room at UC Riverside’s North District Apartments on Friday, wandering around her bedroom and the shared living room space as she moved in her belongings. The 22-year-old junior’s favorite room was the kitchen, where the Riverside transfer student said she expects to do a lot of cooking. “It’s so beautiful,”...

By Imran Ghori |

Student Success Center to open in September

UC Riverside’s Student Success Center will be a building unlike any other on campus with high-tech lecture halls, scenic views, and a prominent location on the Carillon Mall. The three-story building is expected to be completed by the end of August and open in September, following almost two years of construction on a nearly 1-acre site south of...

By Imran Ghori |

New parking structure opens

UC Riverside’s new four-level parking structure is now open. Located at the east end of campus, the 1,079-space facility will significantly increase available parking for students, employees, and visitors, and help meet the needs of the growing university, according to Transportation Services. “This facility provides the parking capacity we need to...

By Imran Ghori |

North District ready to open

UC Riverside’s largest new student housing development in years is getting ready for a fall grand opening. Construction of the two large buildings that make up the North District project are complete with crews now finishing installation of furniture and going through final inspections, said Osvaldo Diaz, vice president of Jones Lang LaSalle, a...

By Imran Ghori |

Solar panels added to two campus buildings

UC Riverside is expanding its access to on-site renewable energy with the installation of solar panels on two campus buildings. Workers have been installing panels on the Student Recreation Center and Student Services Building roofs over the past month. The Student Recreation Center now houses 741 panels while 346 panels were added to the Student...

By Imran Ghori |

Student Success Center nearing completion

UC Riverside’s Student Success Center is continuing to make progress with much of the three-story building complete as it readies for a fall opening. The project, located south of the CHASS Interdisciplinary building and west of the Student Services building, is about 85% complete, said Mihai Gavan, a project manager with UCR’s Office of Planning...

By Imran Ghori |

New School of Medicine training suite offers expanded space and state-of-the-art technology

With exam and specialty rooms featuring state-of-the-art technology, the new UC Riverside School of Medicine Center for Simulated Patient Care could easily be mistaken for a hospital wing. That’s part of the goal of the center — providing medical students with as close to real-world conditions as possible to learn patient and clinical skills. The...

By Imran Ghori |

Watkins Hall gets an upgrade

A construction project underway at Watkins Hall will replace the building’s ventilation system and renovate the main lecture hall. The improvements will provide some needed upgrades to the building, one of the oldest on campus, said Tameesha Hayes, a project manager with the Office of Planning, Design, and Construction. A major element of the...

By Imran Ghori |

Medical simulation suite nearing completion

UC Riverside medical students will soon have expanded space to learn patient and clinical skills and procedures. A new clinical skills and simulation suite is beginning to take shape in the bottom floor of the Orbach Science Library. The School of Medicine project features 16 mock exam rooms, an emergency room, an intensive care unit, operating...

By Imran Ghori |

Reaching new heights with the Student Success Center

UC Riverside’s Student Success Center reached an important milestone Friday, Nov. 6 as construction crews placed the top beam on the new building that is less than a year from completion. A small ceremony was held to mark the occasion with construction workers and a few campus community members signing their names to the steel beam before a crane...

By Imran Ghori |

A busy summer for campus construction

Summer has been busy at UC Riverside as new buildings continue to take shape. Several major projects are nearing completion or have reached significant milestones. They include: • The Dundee Residence Hall and Glasgow Dining Hall, which is expected to open this fall. The project consists of three buildings: a 51,000-square-foot, two-story dining...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus construction continues to make progress

A new student housing complex is one of several UC Riverside projects making progress while much of the campus remains empty. Despite the campus closure on March 13, construction has continued at a regular pace as it was deemed an essential service under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order. Contractors and subcontractors have put in place...

By Imran Ghori |

New greenhouse facility allows for expanded research space

A project underway on the east side of the UC Riverside campus will offer high-tech greenhouse space where researchers from different disciplines can work together in a climate-controlled environment. The Plant Growth Environments Facility is the first new greenhouse research building built on campus in close to 40 years, said Rowan Reid, project...

By Imran Ghori |