San Jose State administrators and stakeholders discussed the campus master plan during an April 7 SJSU faculty town hall meeting held by Charlie Faas, CIO and vice president of administration and finance, and Traci Ferdolage, senior associate vice president of facilities, development and operations.
The goal of the campus master plan is to identify room for growth and renovate existing infrastructure, according to its executive summary.
“It focuses on the spatial needs of San Jose State University which includes all three campuses, the main campus, the South Campus, and Moss Landing marine labs and numerous other sites in and around the city of San Jose,” said Linda Dalton, principal planning consultant for Dalton Education Associates.
Because the plan has not been solidified or approved by the SJSU Board of Trustees, the information shared during the meeting was not part of the plan but rather an outline of the ideas, Dalton said.
The plan also includes a potential remodeling of existing buildings such as Washington Square Hall and the Event Center, and potential new campus life buildings such as a “Community Hub” near East San Antonio Street and the Campus Village 3 construction.
“We're not thinking of every building being replaced or happening from this, it was just this map provides our understanding of what the potential could be,” said Jane Lin, an architect with the consultant team.
Dalton said outlined in the campus master plan is the university’s “Transformation 2030,” which is a sub-plan to renew the campus in approximately 10 years.
The Interdisciplinary Science Building is one of the main projects in Transformation 2030.
The building, which will be completed in 2023, will feature state-of-the-art research labs and more green space on the west side of campus, according to previous Spartan Daily reporting.
Chris Shay, SJSU senior director of real estate, mentioned the existing Science Building will be leveled in the plan.
“The concept here is to take this building down [and] all those [science] programs would be protected,” he said. “[We’d] be able to open this [land] up and give us really an iconic view [of Tower Hall].”
He added that the master plan also suggests a new Welcome Center near the dorms.
Shay said the university would also hope to invest in facilities at South Campus, which is less than a mile away from the university.
“[South Campus] could also be a future place for more academic programs, and perhaps even housing,” Lin said.
Lin added that the university also created “redefined ideas” of SJSU’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, which are headquartered in Moss Landing, California.
The laboratories are funded and administered by the SJSU College of Science, according to the laboratories webpage.
She said several locations of Moss Landing are included in the master plan which have potential for using improved sea water pumps, an expanded center for aquaculture and a new research vessel.
Ferdolage ended the town hall meeting encouraging campus partners to continue providing feedback for the plan’s “physical manifestation.”
