UCLA officials present architectural design concepts for the Luskin Center to the UC Board of Regents.
SAN FRANCISCO ““ The proposed UCLA Luskin Conference and Guest Center cleared another hurdle, as the UC Board of Regents approved the $162 million project’s final design and long-term plans at their bimonthly board meeting today.
Designs for the center include 250 guest rooms and a 242,000-square-foot conference center, according to a report from the UC Office of the President. The center will also allocate 10,000 square feet for a catering kitchen to replace an older facility on campus.
UCLA’s Parking Structure 6, the site for the center, will be replaced with a underground lot on Westwood Plaza and Strathmore Place, the report stated.
The board approved funding plans for the center in July.
The center will be funded by $112 million in bonds and a $40 million donation from alumni Meyer and Renee Luskin. The project will not tap into tuition funds, but will use $10.4 million from campus funds and housing reserves, according to Steve Olsen, vice chancellor of finance, budget and capital programs.
In addition to the designs, the board also certified findings from an environmental report on the project during today’s meeting.
Under the California Environmental Quality Act, UCLA officials were required to compile an environmental impact report about potential environmental outcomes of the Luskin center project regarding air quality, transportation, land use and noise.
The environmental impact report, which was presented to the Board of Regents today, concluded that while the project will have “no impact or a less than significant impact” on most areas, air quality and surrounding traffic will be impacted as a result of the construction.
Construction will significantly affect traffic at three intersections, between Veteran Avenue and Montana Avenue, Wilshire Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard, and Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue, according to the environmental report.
“With this much money and this location, (the center) better be great,” said Regent George Kieffer. “If this starts looking like something less than great ““ the entry point for UCLA ““ I will be really unhappy.”
Construction for the center will begin September 2013, and the project is expected to be completed by June 2016.
Compiled by Emily Suh, Bruin senior staff.