Public university with $2B price tag proposed amid deficit

(The Center Square) - More than two years after groundbreaking on a new “university innovation district” in the San Diego-area city of Chula Vista, lawmakers and community members still don’t know how much a new university would cost. While local and state lawmakers and staff didn’t know the cost, a recent report compiled by architectural firm O'C Insight shows that phase 1 of the project is estimated to cost more than $2.1 billion. A 2020 report prepared by architectural firms H+OK and HR&A for the California State University projects that the total cost will be $2.1 billion for a “branch” campus for Chula Vista University and $2.3 billion for a traditional campus. “My big issue or question mark about this planned university is where are they going to get the money?” Lance Izumi, the senior director of education at The Pacific Research Institute, told The Center Square on Wednesday. “I don’t see where they’re going to get that money given the fact that California is estimated to have