flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Higher education construction costs for 2023

Higher Education

Higher education construction costs for 2023

Fresh data from Gordian breaks down the average cost per square foot for a two-story college classroom building across 10 U.S. cities.


By Gordian  | April 13, 2023
Higher education construction costs for 2023
Photo: Pixabay

Colleges and universities manage more than 6 billion square feet of campus space in 210,000 buildings nationwide, with a replacement value of $2 trillion and a backlog of urgent capital renewal needs exceeding $112 billion.

The state of campus facilities will define the financial future of higher ed institutions more than any other single factor. Data collected from a thorough assessment of campus conditions should be used to prioritize building portfolio needs and establish a strategic framework for linking today’s investment realities with future campus aspirations.

Readying campus facilities for future students can take the form of renovations, updates or wholesale replacement, with the driver of that decision based in the alignment of available resources with institutional programmatic priorities. 

As North America’s leading construction cost database, Gordian’s RSMeans Data has been synonymous with reliability since the 1940s, so you can trust it when budgeting for projects that will transform your campus for students, alumni, professors and staff.

With localized square-foot costs on over 100 building models, Gordian’s RSMeans Data allows architects, engineers and other preconstruction professionals to quickly and accurately create conceptual estimates for future builds. This table shows the most recent costs per square foot for two-story college classrooms in select cities, with sustainable, “green” building considerations. 

Visit rsmeans.com/bdandc for more information about Gordian’s RSMeans Data.

Cost per Square Foot for Two-Story College Classrooms with Green Building Considerations

City

2020

2021

2022

2023

National Average

$220.32

$221.38

$229.47

$243.54

Athens, GA

$178.55

$175.75

$182.06

$188.76

Austin, TX

$176.56

$179.01

$183.94

$196.80

Tuscaloosa, AL

$186.09

$186.01

$194.43

$207.45

Tempe, AR

$188.93

$188.88

$194.50

$207.94

Charlottesville, VA

$185.32

$190.71

$196.39

$201.75

Boulder, CO

$195.82

$193.08

$201.54

$210.98

Bloomington, IN

$199.80

$199.26

$206.05

$216.72

Ann Arbor, MI

$216.59

$219.54

$224.73

$235.17

Madison, WI

$216.75

$224.27

$227.99

$242.15

Berkeley, CA

$280.11

$283.40

$287.92

$303.11

Please note: Square foot models are used for planning and budgeting and are not meant for detailed estimates.

 

Related Stories

Market Data | Aug 1, 2023

Nonresidential construction spending increases slightly in June

National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Spending is up 18% over the past 12 months. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.07 trillion in June.

Market Data | Jul 24, 2023

Leading economists call for 2% increase in building construction spending in 2024

Following a 19.7% surge in spending for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings in 2023, leading construction industry economists expect spending growth to come back to earth in 2024, according to the July 2023 AIA Consensus Construction Forecast Panel. 

Mass Timber | Jul 11, 2023

5 solutions to acoustic issues in mass timber buildings

For all its advantages, mass timber also has a less-heralded quality: its acoustic challenges. Exposed wood ceilings and floors have led to issues with excessive noise. Mass timber experts offer practical solutions to the top five acoustic issues in mass timber buildings.

Adaptive Reuse | Jul 6, 2023

The responsibility of adapting historic university buildings

Shepley Bulfinch's David Whitehill, AIA, believes the adaptive reuse of historic university buildings is not a matter of sentimentality but of practicality, progress, and preservation.

University Buildings | Jun 26, 2023

Univ. of Calif. Riverside’s plant research facility enables year-round plant growth

The University of California, Riverside’s new plant research facility, a state-of-the-art greenhouse with best-in-class research and climate control technologies, recently held its grand opening. Construction of the two-story, 30,000 sf facility was completed in 2021. It then went through two years of preparation and testing.

University Buildings | Jun 26, 2023

Addition by subtraction: The value of open space on higher education campuses

Creating a meaningful academic and student life experience on university and college campuses does not always mean adding a new building. A new or resurrected campus quad, recreational fields, gardens, and other greenspaces can tie a campus together, writes Sean Rosebrugh, AIA, LEED AP, HMC Architects' Higher Education Practice Leader.

Engineers | Jun 14, 2023

The high cost of low maintenance

Walter P Moore’s Javier Balma, PhD, PE, SE, and Webb Wright, PE, identify the primary causes of engineering failures, define proactive versus reactive maintenance, recognize the reasons for deferred maintenance, and identify the financial and safety risks related to deferred maintenance.

University Buildings | Jun 14, 2023

Calif. State University’s new ‘library-plus’ building bridges upper and lower campuses

A three-story “library-plus” building at California State University, East Bay (CSUEB) that ties together the upper and lower campuses was recently completed. The 100,977-sf facility, known as the Collaborative Opportunities for Research & Engagement (“CORE”) Building, is one of the busiest libraries in the CSU system. The previous library served 1.2 million visitors annually.

Higher Education | Jun 14, 2023

Designing higher education facilities without knowing the end users

A team of architects with Page offers five important factors to consider when designing spaces for multiple—and potentially changing—stakeholders.

University Buildings | Jun 9, 2023

Cornell’s new information science building will foster dynamic exchange of ideas and quiet, focused research

Construction recently began on Cornell University’s new 135,000-sf building for the Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science (Cornell Bowers CIS). The structure will bring together the departments of Computer Science, Information Science, and Statistics and Data Science for the first time in one complex.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Libraries

Reasons to reinvent the Midcentury academic library

DLR Group's Interior Design Leader Gretchen Holy, Assoc. IIDA, shares the idea that a designer's responsibility to embrace a library’s history, respect its past, and create an environment that will serve student populations for the next 100 years.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021