A 381-bed student housing project on University of the Pacific’s Stockton campus will provide students with comfortable, contemporary living, while creating nearly 330 jobs and pumping $57 million into the regional economy.
The university today broke ground to mark the start of construction of the 158,000-square-foot Upper Division Housing project that includes two four-story residence halls on campus north of the Calaveras River and south of Brookside Road. The $36 million project will be located on what had been the university’s tennis courts and a small portion of an adjacent recreation field. Tennis operations shifted in March to the newly constructed Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center south of the Calaveras River and closer to other Athletics facilities.
The new residence is the first phase of a four-phase housing master plan for the campus with a net increase of about 200 beds as buildings previously used for housing are repurposed for other uses, such as office space.
“This housing project is a great opportunity for our current and future students because it has the kind of modern amenities students are looking for, such as WiFi access and being hard-wired for the expanding way they use their electronic devices. It also has indoor and outdoor gathering places, study areas, and more,” said Torry Brouillard-Bruce, executive director of residential life and housing. “This project also clearly demonstrates Pacific’s commitment to investing in the region and doing what we can to support economic growth here.”
The university estimates the construction project will likely create about 135 construction jobs for about a year with an additional 192 indirect jobs in the community. The estimated $57 million boost to the regional economy will include spillover effects such as supplier payments and general spending by workers in the community.
Once completed for January 2018, the new halls will house juniors, seniors, and graduate and professional students. The sustainably built project will provide indoor and outdoor gathering places, such as a communal kitchen, community and study spaces, a workout facility, and apartment-style housing, all designed to support student success. The residence halls will be constructed in contemporary collegiate Gothic style and the exteriors will include brick and other features already found on buildings that dot the picturesque campus. Landscaping will include drought-resistant grasses, plants, flowers and trees.
This is the first residential construction project at Pacific since the Monagan and Chan Family halls were completed in 2000 and 2002, respectively. Past residence hall construction projects – excluding the Theta Chi house north of the Calaveras River – include the McCaffrey Center completed in 1974, three residence halls in the Quad completed in 1964, and Grace Covell completed in 1957.
Other recent capital projects include the DeRosa University Center, Chambers Engineering and Technology Center, the Biological Sciences Center and the Vereschagin Alumni House, as well as regular summer renovation projects to current student housing. Student-athletes and area Tiger fans have seen recent renovations to the baseball and softball fields, as well as the construction of new sand volleyball courts, field hockey and soccer fields, and the Eve Zimmerman Tennis Center. The university also recently received a $1 million gift from Kathleen Lagorio Janssen and Dean Janssen to build a state-of-the-art weight training facility.
For the new student housing project, the university is working with Birmingham, Alabama-based Capstone Development Partners, known for building student housing. Capstone will directly oversee the construction of the project. The design firm is Mogavero Architects of Sacramento and the contractor will be Sundt Construction of Sacramento, an experienced builder of student housing, which often uses local and regional subcontractors.
For more information, visit www.pacific.edu.