Caribbean University begins $17.39 million expansion of its Bayamón campus
Caribbean University has started construction of 64,461 square feet of projects at its Bayamón campus, a $17.39 million investment to expand the campus and repair facilities damaged by Hurricane María, elnuevodia.com reported on October 20, 2026.
What the university is building
According to the outlet, $16.19 million of the budget comes from FEMA because the work repairs hurricane damage. The architecture firm Méndez Badillo Ferrer designed the project and Villavicencio & Associates Construction is the builder.
Of the 64,461 square feet, 24,348 square feet are new spaces, the outlet reported. The largest is a two-level theater of 15,128 square feet with 600 seats, equipped for plays, concerts, conferences and events, with a gallery for art exhibitions and receptions. A second building holds a 2,100 square foot gym with locker rooms, showers, offices for student athletes and an infirmary with a first-aid area. A third holds the student center and a 5,370 square foot restaurant-style cafeteria with a dining room and outdoor terraces. The three buildings are arranged around a plaza with a fountain, green areas and trees, and the exterior works cover 40,113 square feet.
The work is planned to take about two years, with 100 to 110 workers on site at the peak and completion expected in the first half of 2028, the outlet reported. Caribbean University was founded in Bayamón in 1969 and also has centers in Carolina, Vega Baja and Ponce.
What the campus permit file shows
The campus property at Carretera 167 Km 21.2 in Cerro Gordo carries the project's filings, according to permit records analysed by RED Atlas. A permit to demolish several campus structures was approved on August 24, 2023 (case 2023-502762-PUI-009549). A consolidated construction permit, case 2025-664101-PCOC-321717, is recorded as approved on February 9, 2026, after a health-and-safety recommendation approved on January 30, 2026. An incidental-works permit for the demolition and reconstruction of university support facilities within the existing campus was approved on March 26, 2026 (case 2026-674725-PUI-302488). An earlier consolidated construction permit application titled "Bayamón Original Buildings with Courtyards", filed on November 25, 2025, was deleted.
The campus also holds a use permit for administrative offices, classrooms, a mezzanine gallery and a library, approved on February 13, 2025 (case 2020-347385-PU-389889); that filing lists 75 jobs created.
The property market around the campus
Within 1 km of the campus, the property registry recorded 377 sales in the 24 months to October 21, 2026, at a median price of $139,000, according to RED Atlas property records. The largest was a 10,156 m2 commercial property at 1000 Avenida Ramón Luis Rivera, 176 m from the campus, whose permits list a Walgreens pharmacy and a Wendy's restaurant: it sold for $8.07 million on August 27, 2025. A 3,268 m2 commercial property at F-12 Avenida Hermanas Dávila, in Pájaros, sold for $1.5 million on August 12, 2025. The largest residential sale in the radius was $543,554 for a property on Calle Victoria in Cerro Gordo, on April 2, 2025.
On October 21, 2026, 22 homes were listed for sale within 1 km of the campus at a median asking price of $292,500 (from $163,500 to $1.78 million), along with 10 lots at a median of $94,000 and two commercial properties asking $1.5 million and $8 million. Seven commercial spaces were offered for rent at a median of $2,500 a month.