Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Campus and Community Celebrate the Opening of USC Village

  • 08/17/17

USC VillageSix buildings were constructed in three years, employing more than 5,600 workers, many from the local community.

USC developed and fully funded the project, which came in on time and under budget through the use of innovative technology to speed construction. The building facades were created offsite from more than 2,500 precast panels weighing 9,000 pounds.

USC Village is destined to become a new center of campus. Its Central Piazza is akin to the famous Hahn Plaza with the iconic Tommy Trojan statue. The red bricks of USC Village honor the University Park Campus's architectural traditions and are reflective of Bovard Auditorium, a cherished cultural monument built in 1921 at the center of campus.

USC Village will offer 103,000 square feet of handpicked retail, including a number of Southern California-based restaurants and services, anchored by a Target and Trader Joe’s. During a series of town halls for USC Village, community members specifically asked for Trader Joe’s to come to the neighborhood.

In addition to providing $20 million toward affordable housing and $20 million in street improvements, USC also saved and relocated iconic Fire Station 15 and built a new state-of-the-art fire station as part of the project.

The project supported more than 5,600 construction jobs and focused on community hires through a partnership with the city of Los Angeles and local unions. USC Village features parking for more than 1,500 bikes and is a short distance from the Expo Line.

Learning extends beyond the classroom for the more than 2,500 students who will live in one of eight residential colleges at USC Village. USC Village seeks to transform the traditional notion of college life with a design that encourages interaction.

Eighty residential life lounges are outfitted to make study time a destination and encourage young minds to collaborate and create solutions.

Featured

  • Can AI Help Build Stronger Communities in Student Housing?

    Student housing success is shifting from operational performance to student experience, with belonging now at the center. A recent 2025 report underscores a growing emphasis on student well-being, community, and engagement, signaling that expectations now extend beyond logistics to ensure students feel supported in their living environments. AI is enabling that shift by reducing administrative workload and giving teams more time to focus on meaningful student engagement.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.