(The Center Square) – More than two years after groundbreaking on a new “university innovation district” in the San Diego-area city of Chula Vista, lawmakers and community members still don’t know how much a new university would cost.
While local and state lawmakers and staff didn’t know the cost, a recent report compiled by architectural firm O’C Insight shows that phase 1 of the project is estimated to cost more than $2.1 billion.
A 2020 report prepared by architectural firms H+OK and HR&A for the California State University projects that the total cost will be $2.1 billion for a “branch” campus for Chula Vista University and $2.3 billion for a traditional campus.
“My big issue or question mark about this planned university is where are they going to get the money?” Lance Izumi, the senior director of education at The Pacific Research Institute, told The Center Square on Wednesday. “I don’t see where they’re going to get that money given the fact that California is estimated to have a budget deficit.”
Constitutional spending requirements and a higher-than-anticipated increase in program costs are said to be the two biggest drivers of California’s projected $18 billion budget shortfall in the coming year, first projected by the Legislative Analyst’s Office in their 2026-27 budget outlook. The weak budget position outlined in that report expects that the state’s structural deficits will grow by $35 billion a year as spending growth outstrips revenue growth, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said.
So far, the state has allocated $250,000 of state funds to pay for the work of the South County Higher Education Task Force, which is charged with finding funding, establishing a governance model and looking at statutory changes needed to create a new public university in Chula Vista, according to a press release from the office of Assemblymember David Alverez, D-Chula Vista.
More than 383 acres of undeveloped land were donated to the city from land developers, McCann told The Center Square.
“We cannot know how much it will cost before we know how much infrastructure the project needs,” Jonsmyr told The Center Square. “Constructing buildings is not cheap but investing in education today will pay dividends in the future.”
Some legislators have voiced doubts that another public university is needed in the San Diego area.
“I believe any proposal for a new public university must be realistic, transparent, and developed in partnership with the CSU or UC systems,” said Assemblymember Leticia Castillo, R-Corona and a member of the Assembly Education Committee. “At this point, there are still major questions about how Chula Vista University could function as a public institution without commitments from either system. The San Diego region already has strong public and private universities, so any new campus must clearly demonstrate demand, sustainable funding, and long-term support for students.”
Alvarez’s office told The Center Square on Wednesday via email that a library was constructed after the September 2023 groundbreaking on the university innovation district site. That library cost $95 million, according to H. Cristoffer Jonsmyr, communications director and legislative assistant for Alvarez. Approximately $25 million was already allocated for the construction of the library, according to a press release from Alvarez’s office. Another $5 million was secured by former president pro tempore of the California State Senate, Toni Atkins, according to the city of Chula Vista.
That library, the Millenia Library, is expected to house not just materials for CVU students, but also to contain the San Diego State University School of Nursing and the Chula Vista Entertainment Complex, according to Alvarez’s office. The entertainment complex is expected to include a creator hub, podcast studios, a co-working space, production offices, recording studios and Dolby mixing rooms, among other facilities.
“For decades, South San Diego residents have lacked access to a four-year public university that reflects the size, diversity, and potential of the region,” Alvarez told The Center Square in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “Chula Vista is at a pivotal moment in its growth. The community has expanded rapidly, the workforce is changing, and students are seeking pathways to higher education close to home.”
Alvarez pointed to the growing student populations at existing San Diego-area colleges and universities, including California State University, San Diego; University of California, San Diego, and California State University, San Marcos, Alvarez said.
“Expanding higher-education opportunities in South San Diego is especially urgent because demand has never been higher,” Alvarez said.
A bill Alvarez introduced this year, Assembly Bill 662, was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 13. The bill would establish a “university innovation district” that would bring together representatives from San Diego State University, Southwestern College, UC San Diego, the Sweetwater Union High School District in Chula Vista, the city of Chula Vista, the state Assembly and the California State Senate to identify ways to fund the university and establish degree programs that prepare students for the job market, according to the text of the bill.
The task force that presides over the university innovation district would have to hold its first meeting by July 1, 2026, and its first report would be due to the Legislature by July 1, 2027.
According to a report from the University Innovation District, Chula Vista is the only California city with a population of more than 200,000 that doesn’t have a four-year state or nonprofit university. That report also cites Pew Research Center numbers that show that there will be a deficit of bachelor’s degree holders by 2030, and there are already 1.5 million fewer skilled workers this year.
“With technology rapidly evolving and workforce needs evolving, we must build the university of the future,” Chula Vista Mayor John McCann told The Center Square on Tuesday. “A large portion of the South County community is not being served. Our population needs to have the ability to have the opportunities, instead of driving all the way up to North County, or other locations in the county, we want to make sure we have a university for our population to be able to attend.”
Despite the increasing enrollment numbers at other universities in the area, examples abound of colleges throughout California experiencing declining enrollment or facing long-term struggles to enroll enough students. San Francisco State University has seen its numbers decline, and California’s community college system has also seen shrinking student populations.
University of California, Merced, founded in 2005, is the youngest campus in the UC system and has struggled to enroll enough students since it opened its doors. It has resorted to automatically admitting transfer students who applied to other UC campuses when those students are not offered admission to higher-profile UC campuses like UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine.
“When you look at places like UC Merced in Central California, that was built to supposedly meet the needs of younger people or a younger population in the Central Valley,” Izumi told The Center Square on Wednesday. “It has been a challenge to get the enrollment that they want.”
However, the public universities of the Golden State are “pleased to support the expansion of higher education opportunities in Chula Vista through a variety of efforts, including offering courses and degrees at Southwestern College’s University Center location,” according to Amy Bentley-Smith, the media relations and public affairs director for the California State University.
