It’s been 17 years since the Gavilan College Board of Trustees purchased a property in Hollister and 15 years since it signed an interim site development agreement with Fairview Corners LLC., clearing the first hurdles to build a new extension campus.
Now, after a community forum on May 4, which gave attendees an opportunity to see the plans for the campus, and a vote scheduled on May 9 at the trustees’ monthly meeting to approve the final site development agreement, momentum has shifted from planning to construction.
Sandy Mindler of Gensler Architects described the layout of the building at the community forum as being based on a guided pathway approach to provide better options and opportunities for students.
“You enter at the Hub, a place where you get oriented,” she said. “From there, you have a sense of arriving in a special place and knowing where to go. There is a welcome desk and an area for people who can assist with counseling, choosing courses and financial assistance.”
Besides student services, there will be a pantry and cafe, as well as a large auditorium or community room, which she said would be “used actively during the school day, but it’ll also be available for community events.”
Beyond the hub, to the east, is what Mindler described as one of the two learning resource centers.
“There will be library resources and tutoring support study areas for students,” she said. “There are two computer labs, so if one of them is in use for teaching or a classroom, the other is still available for drop-in use.”
There is also space in this area for student clubs and student government.
At the west end of the building, the second learning resource center is where the classrooms are located, as well as an open space for communal studies.
“All the research shows that one of the most important things that students get in their education is a network,” she said. “It is a space to meet other students, and have casual conversations with teachers. With this, we are really trying to build in the kind of spaces that are part of a successful campus.”
Comments from the audience ranged from questions about the possibility of bulletproof glass in the complex, which was dismissed as too big a cost, to the number and location of non-gendered restrooms.
Mindler said that there will be further studies as construction progresses to make sure that all student needs are met at the new campus.
“We need to ensure that our students are provided the full range of support services at this campus so that they don’t need to drive to Gilroy,” she said. “Those are the types of discussions we want to have, and so we’re going to form another work group and then be able to flesh out what that looks like in terms of the timeline.”
Construction on the 78-acre site, located at the corner of Fairview Road and Airline Highway, adjoining the 60-acre site of the proposed Fairview Corners housing development, began with underground infrastructure. The project’s groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for June 16. The first phase of the campus is scheduled to be completed by fall 2024.
The first phase of Gavilan’s San Benito County campus construction is being funded through Measure X, a $248 million bond measure passed in 2018 that authorizes the district to upgrade infrastructure including renovations at the Gilroy campus such as the library, new buildings for the science, computer and technology labs and repairs to classrooms. It allocated $52 million for permanent classrooms and labs in San Benito County.
Measure X was preceded by Measure E in 2004, which was passed by the voters in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties to raise $108 million to fund projects in both counties, including permanent classrooms, labs, a library, job training and college transfer counseling in San Benito County.
While some of the money raised was used to purchase the site where Gavilan’s San Benito County campus will be built, the lion’s share went to Santa Clara County’s Coyote Valley project, a police training facility. Nothing was built in San Benito County.
The Gavilan Board of Trustees will be meeting at 6 p.m. on May 9 at Hollister City Hall to approve the final site agreement. The meeting is open to the public and will be broadcast on Zoom.
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