UC Merced says it’s invested $2.4 billion statewide

UC Merced directly invested nearly $170 million in the San Joaquin Valley economy in the past year, the university reported Tuesday.

Regional investments since July 2000 now total $1.27 billion, according to the annual Economic Impact Report. Statewide, UC Merced’s economic impact in the past 12 months amounted to $223 million, bringing its cumulative total to more than $2.4 billion.

The university’s investments include employee wages and benefits paid; the amount of goods and services purchased; and the value for construction contracts awarded. A report from the University of California Office of the President found that area investments generate economic “ripple effects,” which typically double or triple the value of the investment.

“The need to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in the San Joaquin Valley was a critical factor in the decision to locate the newest UC campus in Merced,” Chancellor Dorothy Leland said in a news release. “The university’s investments will continue to grow as the campus grows, creating new businesses, attracting additional investors and entrepreneurs, and helping to diversify the region’s economy.”

Permanent employment for UC Merced now totals more than 1,500 faculty and staff members, according to the release, with graduate students and part-time student employees adding another 1,600 to the university’s payroll.

The campus plans to double its size by 2020, adding nearly 1 million square feet of academic, administrative, residential and recreational facilities to make room for a projected enrollment of 10,000 students.

The expansion proposal, now under consideration by the UC Board of Regents, would create 10,800 new construction jobs in the region (12,600 statewide), 400 permanent staff positions and many more jobs within the community, officials said. It is expected to generate $1.9 billion in regional economic impact over the next five years ($2.4 billion statewide), including direct and indirect effects.

Though not officially part of the proposed expansion plan, UC Merced is set to build a 67,400-square-foot facility in downtown Merced to provide more space for administrative staff, and to encourage interaction with the community and downtown businesses. Groundbreaking for the $45 million Downtown Center is expected to take place next summer, with employees scheduled to move in before fall 2017.

An earlier version of this story misstated in the headline the amount spent locally.

This story was originally published October 13, 2015 at 3:48 PM with the headline "UC Merced says it’s invested $2.4 billion statewide."