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Campus Optimization Planning

Helping an urban campus get ahead amidst local and global pressures

CHALLENGE

In 2019 GGU’s prime downtown address was critical for access to its student base, made up mostly of mid-career professionals. But persistent offers from developers to maximize the real estate potential of its downtown site had begun to paralyze aspects of university decision making. To get on the front foot, GGU needed to determine its fundamental needs within a rapidly changing academic, programmatic, cultural, and financial landscape – irrespective of what real estate offer was on the table.

APPROACH

MKThink conducted over 30 faculty and staff engagements to assess and refresh student, instructional, and operational needs. University-wide surveys, course-and-classroom utilization analysis, and scheduling models validated user requirements and the efficacy of the resulting space options.

In collaboration with university leadership, MKThink developed guiding principles that were used to assess the pros and cons of multiple program scenarios. Each scenario explored the impact of different variables. Post pandemic, MKThink supplemented these with a series of new scenarios to understand the impact of increasingly remote and hybrid instruction modes, work practices, and distribution typologies.

RESULT

MKThink’s scenario models helped the university determine the ‘minimum viable solution ’ it needed to implement to support its academic mission and brand while maximizing its real estate opportunities. By thinking outside the confines of its existing campus, the university was able to visualize success using as little as ~40% of its existing campus footprint, unlocking savings (and potential new revenue) that can be realized via alternative development scenarios, including staying in place.

CLIENT

Golden Gate University

SERVICES

Data Services
Utilization and Capacity Analysis
Scenario Modeling
Programming
Change Management

LOCATION

San Francisco, CA

SIZE/SCALE

50,000 SF

MARKET

Higher Education

ACCOUNT HISTORY

Vision and Master Plan 2012
Master Plan Implementation |
Architectural Services 2012 - 2015
Campus Optimization Planning 2019 - 2022

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