Campus Village 3 Project Overview

• What is Campus Village 3?

  • Campus Village 3, or “CV3”, will be the newest addition to SJSU’s campus student housing. The project will replace, in a phased approach, Washburn Hall, the existing Dining Commons, and Joe West Hall with a new 12-story dormitory building containing 1,007 student beds, a 900-person capacity dining hall, and a new venue for the eventual relocation of the Welcome Center along San Salvador Street. The initial phase of the project (P1) will be a 133’-tall building and the second phase (P2) will be a 113’-tall building.

• Why is this building needed?

  • SJSU Cares works with students to address their housing insecurity needs, which includes financial assistance to meet a deposit or rent payment, emergency housing options on and off campus, and other resources. The most recent holistic basic needs survey led by SJSU Cares identified that 41.5% of students experienced housing insecurity, which includes a number of factors ranging from affordability, quality and safety, to the imminent threat of homelessness. While most students do not experience homelessness, 11.2% of all students in 2021 reported experiencing homelessness for at least one day. The average time spent experiencing homelessness is 3.4 days total, with the top two accommodations being couch surfing or living in a vehicle. Additionally, many students from underrepresented backgrounds have minimal reserve funds for use in case of emergencies. 

    
    Compounding unfavorable conditions for students is the overall lack of availability of housing in the near-campus area and South Bay in general. New mega projects around campus will consume most, if not all, the remaining housing options currently available to students and contribute to even tighter conditions for all residents in search of housing.

    
    A new on-campus housing option that is purpose-built with affordability in mind is necessary to keep our students on track for academic success.

     

• What will this project cost?

  • The project budget was developed based upon a program and feasibility study developed by
    Solomon Caldwell Buenz and checked against Brailsford & Dunlavey comparable residential project development costs at CSU and other campuses. Development cost estimates were first developed and vetted in late 2018/early 2019 and have been escalated forward to fall of 2022.  Additional validation will be undertaken during the planning phase to ensure the budget estimates remain valid prior to going to bid.

    The total cost for the combined residential and dining  project is estimated at $333,950,000, including planning, design and engineering, construction including escalation, project management, permitting and other fees, group II equipment, and contingency. 

• Why is SJSU demolishing Washburn Hall instead of refurbishing it?

  • The deferred maintenance and backlog for the Washburn Residence Hall is $10 million, with the Dining Commons adding a further $6.6 million for a total of $16.6 million. The removal of these two deferred maintenance budget liabilities represents a sizable percentage of the university’s self-supporting facility backlog. Replacement of existing facilities with CV3-P1 will also deliver a modern design and buildings system to insulate operational capacity in the event of future health and safety concerns. Modern systems and construction will also reduce maintenance and operations costs (on a per square foot basis) to achieve efficiency. By investing in CV3-P1 and removing the deferred maintenance liability, the campus is in a better position to provide affordable living at the prescribed levels.

• How is this project feasible?

  • Senate Bill 169, signed into law in 2021, created the Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program (HESH), which reserved at least 30% of new funding from the State to the CSU for new student housing development. The 2022-2023 California State Budget passed in June 2022 then appropriated $2 billion towards this program. The CSU is slated to receive $600 million total over the span of three years and SJSU is in the process of finalizing its application for the initial round of funding to kickstart CV3.

    HESH funding will allow SJSU to build and deliver these new student beds at a much lower cost than projects typically seen in Silicon Valley. The per bed construction cost is estimated to be $166,542.

    Taken together with SJSU reserves and state revenue bond (SRB) funding for non-HESH program student beds, SJSU has a robust financing approach to deliver on this project and improve affordability for future students in an area that is considered one of the most expensive housing markets in the United States.

• How will this affect campus?

  • The initial phase of the project will entail the demolition of Washburn Hall and will require some temporary construction closures and campus walkway and roadway detours to accommodate building. Access to the existing Dining Commons and the SRAC may be altered, but they will remain in operation.

• Will this project require California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) mitigation?

  • It is not anticipated that the project will require CEQA mitigation as the development size fits within the currently developed Campus Master Plan document. The campus utility master plan has taken into account the need for infrastructure to support the development.

• How will this affect campus finances?

  • The project will represent an increase in operational costs due to the debt load associated with the new construction. Additionally, other operational costs will be incurred related to operation of the facility and the housing and dining programs housed within it. It is expected that revenues resulting from housing rents and facility lease payments will cover expenses or be carried by the overall housing and dining programs. 

Have any questions or concerns not answered here on the website? Email campusmasterplan@sjsu.edu.