Lower Sproul Redevelopment Memo

Lower Sproul Redevelopment Memo

By: Arianna Kandell

Office of ASUC Senator Klein Lieu

Original Doc: http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/regmeet/nov11/gb3.pdf

Driving Force:

• Eshleman Hall and the building housing the Career Center are seismically unfit
• The diversity and needs  of the student body have changed drastically since the 1960s when the majority of buildings in the Lower Sproul were erected, (90% of the student body was Euro-American in 1960 compared to 30% of incoming freshman today), and fail to accommodate and meet the needs of students in today’s digital age
• Eshleman Hall lacks the capacity for student organizations and governance of King Union’s configuration significantly limits its use. Both fail to accommodate student demand for study spaces, and the physical configurations of both buildings constrain their utility.

The scope of the redevelopment by January 2015 includes:

• Replacement of seismically unstable Eshleman Hall
  • Vision: 6 level building, efficient work spaces with modern technology, flexible interactive layouts, and shared resources, individual and group work spaces, a Graduate Student Center, transit center and commuter lounge
• Relocation of the campus Career Center
• Expansion and renovation of King Student Union
  • West Addition:
    • Vision: a two-story ‘campus living room’ integrating food vendors, indoor and outdoor dining, lounges and performance spaces to create a central gather place and house a new multicultural community center, including lounge, conference, and performance spaces
  • South Addition:
    • Vision: two-story retail space, expanded book store, and student retail stores, with retail spaces reserved for ASUC use
• Selective renovations of Chavez Center and Anthony Hall
• Lower Sproul access, structural and landscape improvements
• Renovation of Alumnae Hall at the Anna Head School
• and would emphasize energy efficiency and sustainability; Eshleman is targeted to achieve a LEED Gold certification  and King Union additions and renovations are planned to achieve a minimum level of LEED certification, estimated reduced  energy performance by 20% and water use reduced 40%

Cost:

• Student Fees cover roughly 56% of the capital costs, with campus funds meeting the balance, including funds from the student Life Safety Fee
• The Lower Sproul Plaza Fee would cover recurrent costs and initial capital (approved by 2/3 of student voters)
  • Memoranda of Understanding proscribe the purposes of the Lower Sproul Plaza Fee, a governance structure to administer the Fee and the program improvements it can fund, delineating a decision making process and which aspects of redevelopment are supported by campus funds and fee revenues, with 1/3 of revenue going to financial aid
• Original predictions for the cost estimated $223 million, reduced to $193 million
  • the savings were invested into a separate fund, the Future Lower Sproul Improvement Program, and are under the constraints of the Memoranda of Understanding by the University and ASUC, and in the Presidential Fee Approval

Impact on Student Body:

• Student groups should monitor the timeline and use different avenues laid out in the MOUS to keep the project accountable to providing changes that would enhance the use of space for students
• More attention should be given to which shops are featured in the retail spaces, to be sure the fit with the needs and ethos of the student body
• The school has failed to outline an adequate solution to what student groups should do in the interim
  • while many have switched their meetings to other buildings on campus, it remains to be seen whether there is adequate capacity for all groups once redevelopment begins