Due to the upcoming sale of the Build America Bonds, UCLA officials have said students and staff can expect a new life sciences building and police department within the next few years.
The bonds were sold the week of Aug. 17 and will help the University of California progress with approximately 70 capital projects at campuses throughout the state.
After the individual campuses determine the need for specific capital projects, the university determines the budget, said Steve Montiel, media spokesman for the UC Office of the President.
Capital projects can be financed through state funding or the debt incurred through the sale of the bonds. The construction of these new buildings is an example of the use of long-term debt to finance capital projects, he added. The university markets the bonds to investors in the public market, and as with most loans, agrees to pay back the debt with interest, Montiel said. The university then funds the construction of the buildings with the money raised from the sale.
The Build America Bonds emerged as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which passed in February of 2009 as part of the economic stimulus plan, Montiel said. The federal government’s goal is to stimulate the economy and encourage continued capital investment, job creation and employment by subsidizing the cost of the bonds.
Montiel said the University of California will pay interest to those who buy the bonds. As part of the Build America Bonds, the federal government then provides a 35 percent interest subsidy.
“There is a little over $1 billion in the Build America Bonds and 300 million in tax exempt bonds working together to fund these projects,” Montiel said.
Though the university would have gone through with the construction projects regardless of the Build America Bonds because they had been identified and in progress for some time, the availability of the Build America Bonds for the 2009-2010 calendar years eased the financial burden of the projects through the interest rate subsidy, he added. The university generally undertakes new construction projects to accommodate growth, improve infrastructure and ensure safety in the buildings.
Nancy Greenstein, director of Police Community Services, said the university determined that the police department needed to be replaced with a modern and up-to-date police department because the old building was inaccessible to individuals with disabilities, rated as seismically poor, and suffering from problems with asbestos.
Greenstein added that the new building, which is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2010, will be safer, healthier, more welcoming to the public and less crowded.
“It will be much more accommodating,” Greenstein said. “It will allow us to provide services to the public more efficiently.”
UCLA students will also benefit from the construction of the new police department and life sciences building.
Student employees of the UCLA Police Department will receive more storage space, Greenstein said.
Eric Agar, a UCLA CSO supervisor, said that he looks forward to the increase in space and takes pride in the new building’s improved energy efficiency.
“I hope it opens up this year,” Agar added.
There was a need for a new life sciences building because the old building was somewhat ill-equipped for modern research and unable to keep up with the growth of the department, said Barney Schlinger, chair of the department of physiological science.
“The hope is that the new building will also serve as a mechanism to help integrate the different life science departments and stimulate the whole research environment,” Schlinger added.
He also said that many more people will be able to work in smaller spaces, which will allow researchers to work on different types of projects in the same area.
“The space is designed to be very efficient,” Schlinger added. “That’s a real advantage.”
Schlinger said he hopes UCLA students will see the new building, which will likely be ready for use in fall of 2010, as an opportunity for increased involvement in undergraduate research.
“I think their research experience is as good as any classroom experience, or better,” he added.