Construction Underway on New Housing, Dining Facility for CSU San Marcos

Construction on the new University Village Housing and Dining (UHVD) facility at Cal State University San Marcos in San Marcos, Calif., recently hit a milestone, according to a news release. Project builder McCarthy Building Companies recently announced the concrete start and tower crane arrival for the 140,661-square-foot facility, which is scheduled for completion in summer 2026. The facility will offer housing space for 550 additional students, as well as a 10,888-square-foot dining hall.

“McCarthy is thrilled to announce the successful erection of our tower crane for the CSU San Marcos student housing project, marking a significant milestone in our construction journey with CSUSM and Gensler,” said David Alford, Vice President Operations at McCarthy Building Cos. “This achievement continues to energize our teams' passion for transforming dreams into reality, bringing us one step closer to delivering exceptional, affordable living spaces for CSUSM students.”

The university received $91 million in funding from the California Legislature and state governor from the 2022–23 state budget. The project’s ultimate goal is to improve housing access and equity for “underserved, low-income students.” The school currently enrolls about 16,000 total students, 2,000 of whom live on campus.

The university also partnered with architecture firm Gensler for the project.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, OR

    Preserving Legacy, Designing for the Future

    As historic academic buildings age, institutions face a difficult decision: preserve and adapt or demolish and rebuild. How do we honor the legacy of these spaces while adapting them to meet the needs of modern learners?