Palm Springs COD campus sees early budget wins as construction starts
While current site activity includes survey work and demolition with just job trailers visible, more dramatic changes are on the horizon as the project progresses toward a March 2027 completion date.
One month after officially breaking ground, the Palm Springs College of the Desert (COD) campus is off to an exceptionally strong start financially, with initial construction phases coming in 43% under budget and overall costs tracking right on target – a rare achievement in today’s volatile construction market.
Robert Rauscher, project manager from MAAS Companies, shared the promising news in a quarterly update to the Community College District Board of Trustees Friday afternoon.
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He also assured the community that the $405.7 million campus project will soon transform from its current preliminary phase of mostly underground work into visible construction activity on 29 acres at the intersection of East Tahquitz Canyon Way and South Farrell Drive that formerly contained Palm Springs Mall..
While current site activity includes survey work and demolition with just job trailers visible, Rauscher said that more dramatic changes are on the horizon as the project progresses toward its completion date in March 2027.
The construction is proceeding in three planned increments, with preliminary work already underway on increment 1. The project team has already secured approval for construction contracts on increments 2 and 3, and is working closely with the Division of the State Architect (DSA) to finalize remaining details.
In a strategic financial move, the project will purchase its solar and photovoltaic system outright, Rauscher said.
“That’s really actually the best way to go,” he noted. “It satisfies DSA and gives us good control over the system for later on.”
The project timeline shows steady progress ahead, with the first increment wrapping up by April 2025 and the second phase starting immediately after.
The Campus Support Building will be the first to rise from the ground, housing vital facilities including maintenance and operations, public safety, and the central utility plant.
The Learning Hub building will follow closely behind, carefully timed to align with the campus’s service needs.
The project’s financial outlook has impressed board members and administrators alike. Initial bids for the first increment came in significantly under budget, offsetting a slight 2% overage in later phases.
“Even though those bids in total came in approximately $5 million over, that’s only 2% of this project,” Rauscher explained. “The balance between increments meant we came in basically right on target – something unheard of over the last two decades.”
“Really, I can’t imagine a scenario where we could start a project on better footing than this,” Rauscher concluded. “But that means we’re off to the races and we’ll see what tomorrow holds for us. There are always surprises.”
The project remains on track for substantial completion in March 2027, with full operations beginning in fall 2027.
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