The University House at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) is en route to demolition.
The University of California Regents, the governing board for the 10 state universities, unanimously voted to proceed with plans to demolish the 55-year-old home and construct a new residence on the 7-acre site. The Regents Grounds and Buildings Committee assessed the project on July 18.
Bulldozers won’t raze the pueblo structure quite yet, though. An environmental impact report (EIR) has yet to be prepared and still needs ratification from the UC Regents. The Coastal Commission also has not had its say.
The house is not going down without a fight ” or at least some strong urgings from one Native American local concerned about possible native burial grounds onsite. The La Jolla Historical Society also opposes demolishing the historical residence that was first owned by a prominent La Jolla developer, William Black. University House sits atop prime beach bluffs in the La Jolla Farms area.
UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox has yet to spend a night at University House, since it was condemned in 2004 due to seismic code deficiencies, erosion, improper drainage, electrical and plumbing problems and mold.
The university decided against renovating the structure, since consultants advised that costs could escalate once contractors probed more deeply into the structure. Renovation costs are pegged at $4.8 million but estimated to rise by at least $1 million once the full scope of the project is clear.
Renovating the house would also not create the public space necessary for administrative, ceremonial and fund-raising needs, according to a work group assembled to assess the alternatives. The work group consisted of UCSD vice chancellors, staff, faculty, students and alumni, who found that the existing structure lacks the public amenities needed.
The two single-stall lavatories draw embarrassingly long lines during public functions, stated the report before the Regents committee.
“Merely renovating the property would require a significant investment in the existing facility and produce a modernized but still functionally obsolete facility,” read the report.
Such reasoning for demolishing the house doesn’t satisfy the concerns of Carmen Lucas of the Laguna Indians, however. Lucas is an appointed member of the Kumeyaay Cultural Repatriation Committee and County of San Diego Historical Sites Board. The site likely contains native burial grounds, according to Lucas.
Archeologists have identified 36 possible native human burial grounds in the area, and it’s unknown whether additional burial grounds are underneath the house. Twenty-one other burial locations have already been found onsite.
“This important information, however, is not found anywhere in the staff report for this item, nor was it noted in the materials considered by the University House work group or the Renovation Investigative Study Group,” Lucas’ attorney said in a letter to the UC Regents.
UCSD representatives assured the regents that the EIR would address concerns over Native American burial grounds and that the university was “sensitive to those concerns,” according to regent Stephen Schreiner, who sits on the Grounds and Buildings Committee.
Lucas also claimed that at the last meeting between the Kumeyaay committee and the university this past March, officials stated that there was no project and that UCSD was only gathering information. The university failed to notify the Kumeyaay committee that the regents were directing plans for demolition on July 18, according to Lucas.
The university refuted the idea that the Kumeyaay committee was left in the dark. During the past two years, the university has sought counsel and guidance from the Native American community multiple times, said Associate Vice-Chancellor Stacie Spector.
“We have every intention of doing whatever studies that we need to do so that we can respect the property in an appropriate way,” Spector said.
The La Jolla Historical Society also lamented destroying the historical treasure.
“Our recommendation still stands as it was,” said Pat Dahlberg, executive director. “We think that the house is so spectacular. It’s a William Lumpkins pueblo-style adobe house, and it has beautiful details.”
The estate’s entire history would not be demolished, however. While the new University House would not be built in the original’s pueblo revival style, segments of the existing adobe foundation, wrought iron gates, corbels and tile work would be incorporated.
Plans call for constructing a slightly smaller structure of 10,800 gross square feet (gsf), compared to the existing 11,400 gsf home, with supplemental exterior terraces and courtyards suited for public events.The project is estimated to cost $7.85 million.
UCSD has capped its contribution at $1.45 million with plans to fund-raise the remaining $6.4 million. Monies have already poured in, with $4.9 million raised so far.
From here, the project will proceed to the Coastal Commission and eventually back to the UC Regents for an EIR review. The university has targeted demolition for October 2007 and hopes to move the chancellor into the new residence by January 2009.
Meanwhile, Fox resides in a rented house that costs $6,400 per month.