The University of California, Merced, has named Plenary Properties Merced (PPM) the winning bidder for its next major phase of campus development, a four-year project that will nearly double the physical capacity of the campus by 2020, allowing it to grow to 10,000 students shortly thereafter.

In November 2015 we reported that the Regents of the University of California had authorized the RFP for the project. In May 2015, the shortlisted team were:

• E3 2020:  Balfour Beatty Investments, Inc.
• Edgemoor Plenary EdR Partners (EP2): Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate LLC, Plenary Group USA Ltd., and Education Realty Trust, Inc.
• Merced Campus Collaborative: Lend Lease (US) Investments, Inc., Macquarie Capital Group Limited and American Campus Communities, Inc.

Plenary consortium will be responsible for master planning, programming, design and construction of facilities, design and construction of associated infrastructure, financing and operations and maintenance of some or all of the elements, of academic, administrative, research, recreational, student residence and student services buildings, utilities and infrastructure, outdoor recreation and open space areas, and associated roadways, parking and landscaping, for UC Merced.

Plenary team will have to invest at least 10% of equity of the total project budget, which is US$1,142 million.

The state will pay about two-thirds of the project’s costs with $600 million from bonds and $157 million provided by UC Merced. Plenary Properties Merced will cover the remaining one-third and will recoup its $386 million investment over 35 years of $51 million, the university said.

UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland said:

"We are impressed by the creativity, efficiency and aesthetic qualities evident throughout the winning proposal."

"Plenary Properties Merced has produced a compact, environmentally sensitive design that blends beautifully with our existing campus, facilitates our multi-disciplinary teaching and research methods, and provides flexibility for future changes in building usage. Most important, it's a cost effective way of building out our campus."

Dale Bonner, executive chairman of Plenary Concessions, said:

"The UC Merced 2020 Project will put UC Merced at the forefront of higher-education design and delivery in the U.S. Plenary is delighted to be a part of this partnership."