SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Elected officials from the City of Chula Vista announced Wednesday that they've secured $30 million in state funding for Phase 1 of the Cinematic Arts Academic Center & Library project.
It will be home to SDSU's state-of-the-art television, film, new media studios and a brand new library for the South Bay community.
CBS 8 spoke to the mayor of Chula Vista about how excited they are for the completion.
"We're just so excited in the City of Chula Vista after years of trying to get a university center here with four-year degrees for our South Bay students and beyond. The day is finally here that we can announce that we are going to be partnering with SDSU in order to build the first phase of our university," said Mayor Mary Salas.
Mayor Salas expanded on the importance of this partnership, sharing there is not a four-year university south of Interstate 805. She says Chula Vista has a huge population of students that have the qualifications and grade point averages, but are turned away because of lack of space on the SDSU campus.
The Cinematic Arts Academic Center & Library project will be housed in an $89 million, 168,000-square-foot building that will include the City's first new public library built since 1995. The project also will provide opportunities for four-year degrees in the South Bay region with the rapidly growing film and digital media industries.
It will be funded with $30 million in state funding and $59 million from the City of Chula Vista. This partnership will educate the next generation of aspiring film students with new soundstages, mixing suites, and a digital screening theatre. The facility will also be available for Southwestern College.
Doors open for students in the fall of 2025.
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