Inside UCR

North campus sidewalk reopens

Imran Ghori — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0800

A widely used campus walkway has reopened to pedestrians as UC Riverside’s new instructional building project draws closer to completion. The sidewalk at the north side of campus, running along the Amy Harrison Athletic Field and UCR Soccer Stadium, had been closed since mid-December as part of construction for the Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Facility, or UTLF.

North District 2 housing honored with innovation award

Imran Ghori — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 00:00:00 -0800

UC Riverside’s first-of-its-kind North District Phase 2 student housing complex received the Mayor’s Innovation Award at the Riverside State of the City on Jan. 28.

Research and innovation park project progresses

Imran Ghori — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 00:00:00 -0800

Six months after breaking ground, UC Riverside’s SoCal OASIS Park™ has one its most notable design elements in place. Construction crews completed installation in December of the wood frame and paneling in the front portion of the building. 

New business building wins architecture award

Imran Ghori — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 -0800

Award recognizes design excellence and innovation

North District 2 opening celebrated at ribbon-cutting ceremony

Imran Ghori — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside celebrated the completion of its North District 2 student housing complex Monday, Sept. 29, with more than 200 guests gathered at a courtyard outside one of the apartment buildings. 

Oak tree art display honors Native American history

Imran Ghori — Tue, 16 Sep 2025 00:00:00 -0700

A new art display at UC Riverside’s Student Success Center pays tribute to the region’s Indigenous tribes and the trees sacred to them with a wood carving made from oak trees that once stood at the site. A celebration and unveiling for the oak tree art display, which was installed in July, will be held Sept. 23. The installation, mounted on a wall on the building’s first floor, combines several wood pieces to create a 20-foot-wide and 10-foot-long display.

North District 2 welcomes its first group of student residents

Imran Ghori — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside opened its newest student residential community Saturday, Aug. 23, welcoming close to 250 students from Riverside Community College District, or RCCD.

New student housing complex readies for opening

Imran Ghori — Tue, 22 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0700

Construction crews are putting the finishing touches on UC Riverside’s new student housing complex project in advance of its opening next month. Major construction of North District Phase 2 is mostly complete with work expected to be wrapped up soon, said John Franklin, a project manager with the Office of Planning, Design, and Construction. The first group of students will move in later that month in advance of Riverside Community College District’s fall semester, which begins Aug. 25.

Higher ed planners honor SOM II design

Imran Ghori — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside’s new School of Medicine instructional building was recognized for excellence in architecture by the Society for College and University Planning.

UCR celebrates groundbreaking for innovation park

Imran Ghori — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside has begun construction of the SoCal OASIS™ Park, a research and innovation hub near campus that represents a major step in promoting economic growth in Inland Southern California. Community and campus leaders celebrated the project at a groundbreaking ceremony Monday, June 23, at the 3.44-acre site on University Avenue near campus. The $68 million project is expected to be completed by spring 2027.

Former UCR Extension building demolished

Imran Ghori — Wed, 04 Jun 2025 00:00:00 -0700

The final pieces of the old UC Riverside Extension building came down last week as construction crews completed its demolition. The 3.44-acre site will be developed into the SoCal OASIS™ Park, construction of which will start this summer. The park will serve as a hub for research and economic development with laboratories, startup space, and training facilities.

New instructional building passes construction milestone

Imran Ghori — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0700

Progress on UC Riverside’s new instructional building project reached a major milestone this month with the full frame now standing. The construction team poured the final concrete placement at the top of the four-story Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Facility on April 17, representing the completion of the first major phase of work. “All the major structural elements up to the roof are done,” said Sarah Sabera-Turab, a senior project manager with Planning, Design, and Construction.

School of Business wins Riverside beautification award

Imran Ghori — Tue, 04 Feb 2025 00:00:00 -0800

UC Riverside was honored at the city of Riverside’s annual beautification awards for its new School of Business building. The new four-story building, which opened last fall, received the Sustainable Design & Innovation Award as part of the Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful Awards on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Old extension building demolition begins

Imran Ghori — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0800

The old UC Riverside Extension building is coming down to make way for a new clean technology park. Demolition began in November of the former UCR Extension Center on University Avenue, with the parking garage torn down over the course of a month. Following some cleanup work at the 3.44-acre site, demolition of the building will begin early next year and is expected to be completed by summer, said Daneca Stevens, a project manager with Planning, Design, and Construction.

North District housing project completes major structural work

Imran Ghori — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 00:00:00 -0800

UC Riverside’s new student housing complex project has reached a major milestone and moved on to the next phase of construction. A topping out ceremony for the North District Phase 2 project was held on Oct. 4 to mark the installation of the last of the prefabricated wall panels for the two apartment-style buildings, which reach up to seven stories in height.

School of Business celebrates new building

Imran Ghori — Tue, 22 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside celebrated the start of a new chapter for the School of Business with the dedication of its new four-story instructional and administrative building at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, Oct. 18.

UCR starts construction on new instructional building

Imran Ghori — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside celebrated its growth and future with campus and community leaders at a groundbreaking ceremony for a major student instructional building on Friday, Oct. 4. About 75 people attended the event at former Parking Lot 19, where the four-story, 100,700-square-foot Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Facility is being built. 

Arts Building improvements underway

Imran Ghori — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 00:00:00 -0700

A summer renovation project of UC Riverside’s Arts Building will help fix drainage problems at the site. Since June, the building has been surrounded by fencing as construction crews began work.

New School of Medicine building wins design/construction awards

Imran Ghori — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside’s new School of Medicine instructional building won two awards from a construction industry trade publication. The School of Medicine Education Building II, which opened in September 2023 after two years of construction, received the Award of Merit in the Excellence in Sustainability category and an Award of Merit in Higher Education/Research from Engineering News-Record California.

Prep work begins for new classroom and instructional lab building

Imran Ghori — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Preliminary work has begun on UC Riverside’s new instructional building complex. The area around Parking Lot 19, south of the UCR Soccer Stadium, was fenced off in June as crews begin demolishing the asphalt surface to prepare the site for construction of the Undergraduate Teaching and Learning Facility.

Physics Building roof replacement begins

Imran Ghori — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside’s Physics Building will get a new roof as part of a renovation of the aging building. Construction work began June 17 with the work expected to be completed by September in time for the fall quarter. The project involves completely demolishing the roof and replacing it with a new roofing system, said Fernando Nunez, a project manager with the Office of Planning, Design, and Construction.

North District housing complex walls go up

Imran Ghori — Mon, 17 Jun 2024 00:00:00 -0700

Three large cranes, more than 10 stories high, tower over UC Riverside’s North District Phase 2 project, lifting wall panels and setting them into place. Construction crews at the project site have been repeating those steps over the last few weeks as the student housing project moves forward with the next phase of construction.

Batchelor Hall renovation nearing completion

Imran Ghori — Thu, 16 May 2024 00:00:00 -0700

A major renovation of UC Riverside’s Batchelor Hall is nearing completion after almost two years of construction. The work, which includes significant upgrades to the building’s mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, will be finished by the end of June. Work began in fall 2022.

Campus celebrates Native American Garden

Imran Ghori — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside’s Native American community celebrated the new Native American Garden on campus with music and dance in the first large gathering in the space since the project opened. The grand opening celebration on Tuesday, April 9, featured the Mountain Cahuilla Bird Singers, who danced and sang in the sand circle at the center of the garden to a large crowd gathered around them. The event was sponsored by Native American Student Programs.

Spieth Hall gets a new roof

Imran Ghori — Thu, 08 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0800

UC Riverside’s Spieth Hall has a new roof and an improved fume hood exhaust system as part of a recently completed renovation project. Replacing the aged roof on the building, which was built in 1957, was a major portion of the work, which began in summer 2022 and was completed this month. The old roof had leaks and areas where puddles would accumulate, said Fernando Nunez, a project manager with the Office of Planning, Design, and Construction. “That roof was in bad shape and needed to be addressed,” he said.

Two new campus buildings honored at Riverside beautification awards

Imran Ghori — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0800

UC Riverside’s new School of Medicine building and Student Health and Counseling Center won top awards in the city of Riverside’s annual beautification awards. The two buildings, which both opened last fall, were honored at Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson’s State of the City address Thursday, Jan. 25, as part of the Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful Awards.

School of Business building enters next phase of construction

Imran Ghori — Tue, 02 Jan 2024 00:00:00 -0800

UC Riverside’s new School of Business building entered a new phase of construction recently as work moves forward for an August 2024 opening. In late December, the school and construction team celebrated the midpoint of construction as crews poured the final concrete placement for the frame of the building. “The super structure is what we call it — it’s complete,” said Frank Salhab, project manager with contractor McCarthy Building Companies.

New northwest campus pathway opens

Imran Ghori — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 00:00:00 -0800

A walkway providing easier access at the northwest corner of campus, including to a new student housing complex, is now open. The South Recreation Mall project began construction in spring and was completed this month.

UCR celebrates construction start for North District 2

Imran Ghori — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 00:00:00 -0800

UC Riverside and its community partners celebrated a unique collaboration Wednesday, Nov. 4 as construction begins on a new housing complex that will be home to future university and community college students.

School of Medicine holds ribbon-cutting for new building

Imran Ghori — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 00:00:00 -0700

UC Riverside leaders reflected on the 10-year anniversary of the School of Medicine and looked to the future as they celebrated the opening of a new educational building. More than 300 guests attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the School of Medicine Education Building II on Tuesday, Sept. 26, including local legislative leaders and two members of the UC Board of Regents.