Progress Continues on Downtown Campus Center

After UC Merced hosted a groundbreaking ceremony and block party that drew celebrants from the campus and greater Merced communities, construction on the Downtown Campus Center (DCC) is underway.

The Business and Financial Strategic Initiatives (BFSI) Transition Team took time to provide the following update on the center’s progress:

Neighborhood workshops, furniture and furniture layout: In September, the BFSI Transition Team will host a series of neighborhood workshops with leadership and staff members to get their input on workstation options and furniture layouts. Departments that will be co-located will have an opportunity to come together to discuss options provided by Tangram Interiors and provide insight that will help drive neighborhood design. Tentative neighborhood maps are posted on the BFSI website.

Digital document management: The DCC Transition Planning Team partnered with Information Technology (IT) and Records Manager Eric Kalmin to start working with departments slated to move on long-term storage, scanning, dispositioning and purging of paper documents. These efforts will expand in the fall.

Technology: IT, in partnership with the DCC Transition Team, started preliminary planning for technology needs of staff, public and shared workspaces. Both are in the process of refining recommended technology standards for DCC workstations.

Other work projects: Transportation, safety, move coordination and several other work streams will launch this winter and in Spring 2017. The transition team plans to keep employees updated, let them know how to follow the team’s progress online and be involved in future neighborhood workshops and quarterly town hall summits.

Scheduled to open in Fall 2017, the Downtown Campus Center provides a unique opportunity to bring more than 40 non-academic departments together in a cost-efficient way, reduce leasing costs and improve our ability to collaborate. The three-story, 67,400 gross-square-foot multipurpose building is also part of a long-term strategy to integrate UC Merced’s teaching, research and public service resources into the fabric of Merced. By establishing a substantial presence in downtown, the university can continue to foster and create partnerships with the community.

Stay abreast of the DCC’s progress by checking the BFSI website, or send an email to BFSI@ucmerced.edu.