University of California Riverside and ACC Seek LEED Gold Certification for New Project

The University of California, Riverside (UCR) and American Campus Communities (ACC) recently held an official groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the first phase of North District, a living-learning, mixed-use community. The goal is to be LEED Gold certified, a rating from the U.S. Green Building Council that spotlights the building’s green features, such as energy-efficient lighting.

This will be the second ACC development at UCR and is located on a 50-acre site on the northern part of campus. North District is a multi-phase redevelopment project of the former Canyon Crest Family Housing site and is expected to provide housing for up to 6,000 students after completion. The community’s pricing is expected to be similar to older, on-campus housing.

Architects from Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) designed the community to create a new “gateway” from the north side of campus, while providing pedestrian and bicycle connections to central campus.

 By 2021, the first phase of this public-private partnership (P3) between UCR and ACC will have 1,500 apartment-style beds for upper division undergraduate, transfer, and graduate students. Later phases will include housing for first-year students, dining facilities and mixed-use residential and athletic facilities.

“This project will help us prepare for this tremendous growth,” said UCR Chancellor Kim Wilcox. The university is anticipating a projected student enrollment of 35,000 by 2035.

ACC is also working with UCR on the construction of Dundee Hall and Glasgow Dining Hall, scheduled to open in fall 2020. North District marks the company’s seventh P3 development within the University of California system.