Proposal for Gavilan College and YMCA makes sense
The old Leatherback property makes sense for Gavilan College’s
expansion of classroom space because it is centrally located,
provides the necessary infrastructure and offers a high level of
compatibility with surrounding businesses and the future YMCA.
Proposal for Gavilan College and YMCA makes sense
The old Leatherback property makes sense for Gavilan College’s expansion of classroom space because it is centrally located, provides the necessary infrastructure and offers a high level of compatibility with surrounding businesses and the future YMCA.
A group of locals have opened talks with Gavilan and the Hollister Redevelopment Agency – which owns the site and is anticipating a proposal request for its development – about the idea of building college classroom space, the YMCA and commercial units on the property at Hillcrest Road and McCray Street.
Those developers recently presented the idea to the Gavilan board of trustees, which is considering whether to progress with the proposal.
Gavilan’s elected leaders should forge ahead on this idea to the best of their power – the state’s financial crisis stands as a roadblock to any new college growth – for several reasons.
First off, Gavilan needs the additional classroom space to accommodate a growing demand locally that is destined to continue on the upward tick. College officials know this.
That is why they had sought other locations last year such as the old Pinnacle and Fortino’s buildings as they maintain plans, it appears many years down the line, to develop a permanent satellite campus at Fairview Road and Airline Highway. They have been stalled on the short-term expansion for months, however, with state funds toward college growth being frozen.
In the course of rebuilding the state’s financial infrastructure, though, it would be nice to see California officials and lawmakers recognize that although widespread cuts and major reform are needed, it actually makes sense to spend more and expand in areas where the investment pays off.
This investment would, indeed, pay off.
To start, there would be relatively reasonable up-front and operational costs for the college. The developers would fund the construction and own the site while leasing the classroom space to Gavilan College. That property also would come equipped with most of the needed infrastructure, which has been a problem at other potential expansion sites, and there are few if any traffic issues likely to arise if the project progresses.
As an added bonus for Gavilan, the developers are offering to model their design for the college’s space after the school’s plans for the Coyote Creek campus, with 20,000 square feet of classrooms, labs and administration facilities – and potential to grow from there.
Beyond the money, being near downtown and other commercial areas near McCray Street would offer premium convenience for staff and students. Those at Gavilan also would have the added benefit of the YMCA within a short walk from their classes, and partnership opportunities at some point – despite the college president’s insistence that the two organizations are not teaming up for this proposal – would be fruitful for both sides.
It’s the kind of common-sense, progressive-minded unity that would foster a vibrant sense of place for the college and downtown area, which could act to continually draw students through the enrollment turnstile while giving downtown businesses a major upgrade in guaranteed foot traffic.
There is yet another benefit Gavilan trustees should consider – the fact that the Briggs Building is at Fourth and San Benito streets downtown and the Leatherback location is just a few blocks away.
For a lot of reasons, the downtown property makes sense for Gavilan College and it makes sense for Hollister. With this opportunity in place, trustees and other Gavilan officials should do everything they can to make it happen, and other local leaders should encourage them along the way.
