KENDALL EMTMAN / NEWS WRITER

This summer, USD began two major construction projects that will continue into the fall semester: an Integrative STEM Facility and the Redevelopment of the Presidio Terrace Apartments. 

The new Integrated STEM facility is the culmination of a record breaking $75 million gift from Darlene Marcos Shiley. Set to stand at the south end of the parking lot between Warren Hall and the Pardee Legal Research Center, the building is set to take up approximately 70,000 square feet of space.

Myles Morris, the project manager for the development, explained how the structure of the new STEM facility will introduce a unique use of space, allowing engineering and the natural sciences to foster new connections. 

“Currently, engineering  and the natural sciences are housed in three separate buildings,” Morris said. “Sharing this space will lead to more interactions between students and faculty, new cross-disciplinary projects … and creative solutions to the most challenging scientific and technological issues.” 

USD senior Elle Karanian is majoring in environmental and ocean sciences and is hopeful that in the process of joining these two fields, the STEM facility will provide unique research opportunities. 

“Engineering and the natural sciences can be quite connected,” Karanian said. “I can imagine students and faculty from engineering collaborating with students and faculty in the natural sciences will come up with some pretty cool projects.”

Karanian also views the facility as a tool that could be used to benefit the USD community as a whole, rather than serving only students and faculty in STEM. 

“There is a people side to science too,” Karanian continued “There are a lot of ways that the sciences interact with the humanities, policy, law and business as well. I can see this space being a spark to start those kinds of conversations and research.” 

The development of the Presidio Terrace Apartments is set to solve the lack of on-campus housing for USD’s graduate student population.

The 10-story, 700-bed resident hall will serve upper division, graduate and law students and will include underground parking, market style amenities and a bridge linking the apartments to the middle of campus. 

However, with the projected end date being some time in 2029, USD’s current graduate students have lost a housing option. 

The University of San Diego wrote in a statement how they are planning to address this situation.

“Most of the students were 2-year grad students who had already graduated, and the remainder of the group were taking on-campus housing” the University stated, “Additionally, USD expanded its partnership with Pacific Ridge to provide additional campus-adjacent housing for our student community.”

In addition, USD commented on another concern about how the project is going to be funded and whether it will affect student housing costs.

“The redevelopment of the Presidio Terrace Apartments is a partnership between USD and The Michaels Organization,” USD said. “As a result of this collaboration, the university is not providing funding for the construction of the new student housing facility. We do anticipate continued modest increases in housing rates during this time frame to address rising operational costs associated with student housing.”  

However, construction on both projects may also create disruptions for students and faculty throughout the school year.

USD senior Saralynn Riehm shared how she found it difficult to focus during her class last spring in Saints Tekakwitha and Serra Hall as a result of south parking lot construction. 

“I took a class in the Saints building last semester, and we could hear the sounds of construction nearly every day during class,” Riehm said. “The classrooms tend to get hot throughout the day, especially when it is warm outside, and we were typically unable to open any windows, as the construction would have made it difficult to hear our professor.” 

However, Morris explained that this semester, the university has taken several steps to reduce potential disruptions, especially for the construction of the STEM building, which sits in an area near classrooms and tends to have heavy foot traffic.  

“Over the summer we have done a lot of work installing new underground utilities to serve the building,” Morris said. “We prioritized completing this work over the summer break to minimize our construction footprint during the  academic year.”

Morris explained that several changes are expected to take place during the fall semester, in turn addressing concerns about noise disruption and parking availability. 

“Mitigation efforts include creating a temporary driveway to maintain access to ADA parking on the east side of Warren Hall and, later this fall, replacing the single-pane windows on the east elevation of Warren Hall to reduce noise,” Morris explained.

Construction on the two projects will continue throughout the 2026-27 academic year as USD works to expand its academic and housing spaces. 

Construction crane displays USD flag. Photo courtesy of Amy O’Connell