SANTA CRUZ >> Beginning with its initial planning in the 2010s and entering its first phase of construction during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kresge College Renewal Project at UC Santa Cruz is now in the midst of its second and final phase, which is slated for completion later next year.

“The project was conceived back in 2015,” said Jolie Kerns, UCSC director of campus planning. “We knew that many of the buildings had reached the end of their material life.”

Kresge College first opened in 1973 and was the sixth residential college established on the UCSC campus. The college was originally designed with the spirit of an Italian village in mind, according to Kerns.

“Kresge in particular had a very strong architectural concept and was one of the first postmodern complexes designed by Charles Moore and William Turnbull, who had just come off from Sea Ranch in Mendocino,” said Kerns. “We wanted to retain the importance of that architectural heritage, but we understood that there are contemporary needs of our students today and there were other challenges we needed to solve.”

Balancing the needs of students, voiced during town halls before the project began, challenging terrain, sustainability, accessibility, circulation and honoring the historical design of the original college were all considered when shaping the renewal project, Kerns said.

“Everything had to be considered together,” said Kerns. “We were able to tackle a number of campus priorities with the project all in one. I think that was a real benefit for us and our students: a new academic building, increased housing in a variety of different types and also utilities and circulation infrastructure that not only benefits Kresge College alone but is really a critical link in getting students and staff and faculty from the west side of our campus over to the campus core.”

The first phase of the project began in 2020 and was completed in 2023 with the construction of a 35,000-square-foot academic building that holds faculty offices, multi-purpose classrooms, common areas, a computer lab and a 600-person lecture hall. It also included the construction of three new residence halls that can accommodate 400 students. The second and current phase of the project focuses on the college’s existing buildings.

“We decided early on to phase the project and build new around the periphery,” said Kerns. “We also really upgraded the buildings’ energy performance levels.”

Kerns explained that the newly constructed buildings are all electric and carbon neutral and are constructed from renewable materials such as cross-laminated timber. The windows are designed to prevent birds from flying into them by incorporating nature designs into them. The buildings also take advantage of harvested rainwater for irrigation and toilet flushing.

“There’s a humongous cistern under one of the plazas,” said Kerns. “All of the buildings are dual plumbed, which means we are bringing all of that harvested water into the toilets, so the toilets don’t use the city’s potable water, but rather non-potable water to offset that demand.”Kerns mentioned that because the project’s first phase began during the pandemic, some parts of the project were put on pause, which gave designers time to think about and creatively modify the project’s second phase to include more student housing.

“In the end, I think that we were able to make lemonade out of lemons and rethink some of the needs for Phase 2,” said Kerns. “We were able to add quite a bit more housing, which is a benefit to the project and the campus at-large.”

The renovations, reconstruction and construction of two new buildings in the second phase of the project will provide an additional 590 beds for students tentatively next fall.

“There will be a variety of living types,” said Kerns. “The original Kresge had different types of living configurations for our students, so we’ve added residence halls and also options for continuing students to live on campus in apartments or suites or living typologies that offer a little bit more autonomy so that juniors and seniors have options on our campus.”

Kerns said that after making it through the pandemic and the CZU Lightning Complex fires, she is happy that the completion of the final phase of the Kresge Renewal Project is in sight.

“We’re excited to have Kresge whole again,” she said.