Cal State Undergoes Student Union Renovations

California State University, Long Beach is bringing big changes to its campus, as the college undergoes a major renovation of its historic University Student Union (USU).

With a massive financial budget of $315 million, CSULB’s “Future U” project is arguably the largest renovation project for a CSU college, and is reportedly designed with the intention of ensuring the USU is capable of meeting the needs of the university’s ever-growing roster of students.

Originally constructed in 1957, the first college union of CSULB was designed and donated to the university’s Associated Students (ASI) by the Long Beach Soroptimist, a volunteer organization that focuses on improving the lives of women in the Long Beach area.

Then in the 1960s and 1970s, the Soroptimist House, as it was named at the time, would undergo its first major renovation and expansion, in order to accommodate the growing number of students arriving at CSULB – officially being renamed the University Student Union (USU).

Since then, the USU has undergone several renovations in its life, ever changing and improving in order to meet the needs of CSULB students.

According to Shannon Couey, communications manager for ASI, discussions regarding the possibility of renovating the USU for the modern day date back to 2014, but the university never fully considered it, at the time. It wasn’t until 2022 when the discussion of renovating the USU returned, and this time, with more interest.

“At the point when we started this project, during the 2022-2023 academic year, many of the infrastructure systems had outgrown and surpassed their livable lifespan – because again, it opened in 1972 and so at that point, they’re 50 years old,” said Couey. “We did a year-long campaign to the campus community, students, faculty, staff and administration to see if there was interest in renovating the union, and the campus said yes.”

According to Couey, the renovation project will expand the size of the already existing building by an additional 61,000 square feet, taking the new USU to a total of 189,300 square feet. In addition to the expansion, the project also seeks to provide a new array of resources for CSULB students.

“There’s going to be additional study and lounge spaces, as well as upgrading the infrastructure and technology to accommodate 21st Century students, such as WiFi, outlets, and charging stations,” said Couey.

“One of the big things that we heard when we were collecting feedback for the project was students need more wellness support – both mental and physical. So we’re going to have an entire wing of the Union dedicated to a Wellness Center, which will have counseling and fitness coaching.”

Couey also mentioned that, along with new resources and utilities being added, many of the campus resources that are currently spread among the university will be relocated to the new USU, in order for the building to act as a central hub for students.

“We’re bringing the Student Resource Centers into the building, which weren’t here before, as well as a satellite office for the Career Development Center,” said Couey. “We are trying to make a lot of the services that are already available to students on campus more visible, so that students can access them easier.”

According to an official project timeline published online by CSULB, the “Future U” renovation project began its first phase in April. With construction of the university’s Friendship Walk stairs, which is set to be fully completed by the end of the fall semester.

As for the new USU building, construction is currently underway with hopes of the project being completed by June 2028, just in time for the upcoming LA28 Summer Olympics. Until then, services and programs that were offered at USU’s original building are still available in temporary areas across the college campus.

For more information about the Future U renovation project, including their project timeline or construction updates, visit their official website at https://asicsulb.org/corporate/discover/futureu.