I welcome the Gavilan College branch in Hollister. Gavilan’s
board of trustees is planning to build the satellite campus on an
80-acre parcel at Airline Highway and Fairview Road, across from
Ridgemark.
I welcome the Gavilan College branch in Hollister. Gavilan’s board of trustees is planning to build the satellite campus on an 80-acre parcel at Airline Highway and Fairview Road, across from Ridgemark.
I’d really like to see the campus located closer to downtown Hollister.
Apparently the chosen location is one of the few the board looked at that offered enough space for the campus envisioned by the Gavilan board.
At the same time, according to trustee Kent Child, they have yet to determine what the Hollister curriculum will be, what athletics will be offered, and whether or not the campus will include a theater.
So it would have seemed that the size requirement may have had some flexibility in it.
The campus site is not on the current County Express fixed route line. The closest the County Express service gets is Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, still a good hike away from Airline Highway and Fairview Road.
I wish the trustees would have looked harder for a location closer to downtown. It would be great to have a campus that is centrally located and walkable. Students could be encouraged to use public transportation by making parking permits very expensive, and by locating the campus near an existing County Transit line. Gavilan might even consider subsidizing transit passes to encourage transit use.
If space is an issue, I wonder if a two- or three-story facility was contemplated.
Three stories would be compatible with current the skyline of downtown Hollister. I know there would be additional costs for stairs and elevators, but these could be offset by the thrift of building on a smaller footprint.
If a theater is deemed desirable, couldn’t it be designed to double as a major lecture hall? Or even be designed to be divided into smaller classrooms when not in use as a theater?
A location near downtown would be much more student-friendly in terms of access to places to get a meal and do errands. Downtown Hollister still has a lot to offer.
While the Gilroy campus is in an idyllic rural setting, I don’t think the Hollister campus needs to emulate that.
And a near-downtown location would have been more in line with the goals of Hollister’s new general plan.
While the Airline/Fairview location doesn’t violate the letter of the general plan, it’s kind of iffy on its spirit.
The plan envisions filling in the “blank spaces” in the downtown area before going farther afield to build. This applies not only to new housing but to business and other uses as well.
I have to admit I don’t know the availability and conditions of specific parcels near downtown. But I bet there are a lot of real estate agents who do.
I had hoped the Gavilan board would have been creative enough to rise to this challenge.
Elizabeth Gage writes a weekly column for the Free Lance that runs on Thursdays.
