Four New Projects Keep CSUDH on the Grow
State-of-the-Art Facilities Transform Campus and the Student Experience
The 2026-2027 academic year is ushering in an exciting new era at CSUDH, as the campus celebrates the opening of four large-scale capital projects. The new Health, Wellness & Recreation Center, Student Housing and Dining Commons, Orthotics & Prosthetics Center, and upgraded power grid will enrich student life and enhance the services offered on campus.
In 2021, the state of California allocated $60 million toward this critical campus infrastructure, including $20 million toward the electricity grid, $20 million toward the new residence and dining hall, and $20 million toward the Health, Wellness & Recreation Center. This infusion of cash, along with generous contributions from alumni, partners, and friends of the university, enabled CSUDH to move forward with these much-needed projects.
“The opening of these new facilities represents a transformational investment in the CSUDH student experience,” says Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Tiffany Herbert. “Together, these spaces create a more vibrant campus community that places student health, well-being, engagement, and belonging at the center of campus life.”
“CSUDH is continuing its evolution into a true living-learning community where the residential experience, student engagement, wellness, and academic success are intentionally integrated,” she adds.
Student Housing Phase IV and Dining Commons
The new Phase IV Residence Hall (below) features a mixture of single, double and triple rooms. The building can house up to 288 students and includes a lounge, multipurpose room, living room, laundry room, communal bathrooms, and a courtyard where Toros can unwind from their studies.
This new addition to campus consists of a four-story residence hall and the university’s first resident-centered dining facility. The residence hall will accommodate 288 students, providing affordable housing to designated low-income students in order to reduce their cost of attendance and support their academic success.
Health, Wellness & Recreation Center
When it opens in October 2026, the CSUDH Health, Wellness & Recreation Center will provide Toros with a widerange of activities, programs, and services — as well as state-of-the-art fitness equipment. A facility like this has been on the wish list of Toro students and athletes for some time; its completion will help level the playing field with other comparable CSU institutions.
The completed facility will include fitness-related features like an indoor basketball court, locker rooms, and running track. It will also serve as a hub for campus life, with meeting and event spaces for student organizations as well as places for students to just relax and decompress. Visitors entering the building will begreeted with the artistic light installation shown below.
Feel like swimming, lifting weights, or attending a yoga class? This three-story, 82,035 square foot facility features a gymnasium with activity courts, an elevated running track, training and fitness rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, a dance studio, and offices. It will also include a satellite psychological services and mental health center, satellite student health center, healthy eating and nutritional counseling center, and stress-reduction and relaxation room.
Orthotics and Prosthetics Science & Technology Hub
The new Orthotics and Prosthetics Science & Technology Hub provides CSUDH students and faculty with a collaborative space in which to conduct classes, practice skills, and work with the public. The building includes a student makerspace, plaster room, staging area (below), machine room, and CAD-Mechatronics room.
Located just south of the College of Continuing and Professional Education complex, the new headquarters of CSUDH’s award-winning Orthotics and Prosthetics program provides a cutting-edge space to educate the next generation of specialists. It also brings the program back to the Carson campus from its previous location in Los Alamitos, Calif.
“CSUDH is continuing its evolution into a true living-learning community.”
University Central Plant
An SCE Switchyard and new heat pumps at the university’s central plant have been installed to enable increased power on campus. With this $35 million upgrade, CSUDH will reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially through energy conservation, electrification of heating, and renewable energy.
A Legacy in Bronze
The majestic toro bull statue that now stands in front of the Health, Wellness & Recreation Center is a testament to the vision and generosity of longtime CSUDH supporters Gil and Shirley Smith, who donated the funds for its construction. The statue is the main feature in “Gil Smith Plaza,” named for the first Black mayor of Carson, who chaired the committee that worked to establish CSUDH in the city in 1968. (Photo: artist’s clay sculpture of the statue.)
DH by the Numbers
$60M
State investment in critical campus infrastructure since 2021
1,510
Total beds in on-campus student housing
5,104
Meals prepared at the dining commons during its first week
