The construction site for the future Liberal and Creative Arts building between the Humanities and Creative Arts buildings on Monday, April 8, 2019. (TRISTEN ROWEAN/ Golden Gate Xpress)
The two ongoing construction projects are about 20 percent complete and are expected to be finished between late summer or early fall of 2020, according to University Spokesperson Mary Kenny.
The Liberal and Creative Building and the Housing project on Holloway Avenue are included in the University’s future master plan.
Kenny said the four-story LCA Building off Tapia Drive will house the Broadcasting and Electronic Communication Arts (BECA) department and facilitate the need for more modern classrooms.
BECA professor John Barsotti said the department has requested to move out of the outdated Creative Arts Building for three decades.
Barsotti, whose taught in the program for 46 years, said he is excited because the project will provide modern space and equipment for students after so many years of being confined to an outdated Creative Arts building.
“We’ve been trying to get out of this building to a newer building since about the 90s,” he said. “Most of it was built in 1950s and it’s pretty darn old at this point.”
SF State’s Digital Content Specialist Ivan Natividad said the four-story academic building will provide larger communal and classroom spaces, a high-quality television news studio, an audio recording studio and a radio station.
Natividad said the total cost for the LCA Building is $81 million. He said the project is under budget, and the CSU allocated $58 million for the two ongoing projects, and the remaining $23 million was contributed by SF State, faculty, friends, alumni and business partners.
Some BECA students who are graduating this May said they’re conflicted about the project.
“I think the new building is going to be awesome,” BECA senior Max Ouzana said. “But honestly it sucks for me because I am going to be graduating in the next two months so I won’t be here to enjoy it and utilize it.”
BECA senior Ian Ulibarri also said he wanted to use the updated equipment in the LCA Building, but won’t be around to enjoy it.
The other project on Holloway Avenue, across the street from the Administration Building, will add student housing and retail space, according to the campus master plan update.
Natividad said the 230,000-square-foot student housing project under construction off Holloway, in between Cardenas and Varela avenues will provide over 572 new beds and 169 apartment units.
The units will be furnished and include full kitchen accommodations. Retail stores and student lounges are planned for the first floor and the building will feature a 50-car parking garage.
Natividad said the project aims to reduce the shortage of available housing. He said the waitlist for student housing in the past has surpassed 2,500 students.
Some students who live in dorms shared common concerns over their living conditions.
Biochemistry major Ulises Angel said the kitchen conditions and culinary equipment in the residence halls are subpar and better amenities in the new dorms should be a priority.
“If [the new building] could have one community kitchen that would really help out,” Angel said. “That way students can actually cook the meals we want and it would be easier if we had a kitchen that we [had access to] whenever we want.”
The cost of student housing is another concern for student living on campus. According to a survey released by SF State in May 2018, the most affordable student housing unit available is a two-bedroom apartment that accommodates four people and costs $1,225 per bed.
“School doesn’t let me work a lot because of the [course] workload I get,” nursing major Angelica Gonzalez said. “And having one less worry about rent, [especially] a financial worry off your shoulders, would be a huge relief.”
