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Stanford University is eyeing a massive expansion through the addition of workforce and student housing, new teaching space and transportation infrastructure and has proposed a $100M community fund to support a range of development projects.
Stanford submitted its long-term plan to Santa Clara County to obtain a general use permit that would guide the university’s development plans. The StanfordNext plan calls for adding about 1% infill growth annually of modern academic and support space over the next 20 years, as well as 500 units of workforce housing and up to 2,500 student beds.
Stanford expects build-out of new academic spaces to total roughly 1.8M SF over the next two decades. The campus, which spans more than 8,300 acres, has 630 buildings totaling just under 18M SF. University officials spent the past 18 months developing the StanfordNext plan as they fleshed out the requirements of modern physical instruction and support spaces.
“Stanford’s future and our region’s success are inseparable, and both have been in the forefront as we have developed this plan,” university President Jonathan Levin said. “StanfordNext seeks to create shared progress by advancing emerging research and transformative education over the coming decades while also helping address housing, transportation, sustainability, and other critical needs in our region.”
The sprawling university reaches seven different governmental jurisdictions in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, Palo Alto, Woodside, Menlo Park, Portola Valley and Los Altos Hills. The university operates 1,165 housing units for faculty and has 14,000 beds for undergraduate and graduate students. Enrollment has topped 17,000 students since fall 2022.
The university said it will renovate older instructional facilities when feasible, but certain areas of frontier research and innovation require modern buildings and infrastructure. The decision to renovate or replace aging school infrastructure is a problem facing educators and school districts throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.
“Students and researchers need spaces that are flexible, that enable them to use new technologies, and that in many cases include specialized infrastructure and equipment,” Provost and Chief Academic Officer Jenny Martinez said.
Stanford will put together the $100M Stanford Community Fund to support affordable housing, transportation, education and other projects across the region that provide community benefits.
Public review and a decision on the university’s plan are likely to take a few years, with a Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors vote occurring in 2028, the university said.
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