The city council of Seaside met with KB Development Partnership in December 2016 to purchase approximately 85 acres of former Ford Ord territory with plans to build a community and student inclusive “Campus Town.” Demolition, preparation and construction for the project began early this October.
With one part of campus within Marina city limits and the other in Seaside, it’s hard for students to really have a town they can feel at home in. The city of Seaside plans to alleviate that with Campus Town.
The plans on the city of Seaside’s website indicate the main idea behind this feat was to give students a sense of belonging when attending California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), as well as give the surrounding community a better chance to thrive with new opportunities for housing, shopping and employment.
Inclusion of more potential jobs means less travel times for students, since there are many who commute as far as Salinas or Gilroy for work. It also means there will be more places to go for entertainment and leisure, as well as various shops to mosey around in when there’s a window of free time.
Seaside also plans to implement more housing that stems from the idea of there not being many student and family-friendly options. The city council of Seaside felt like having more living space would help the surrounding community, students and university facility have access to the increase in opportunity this town is to provide.
It’s stated in the master plan that success in the new shopping and living area would attract visitors and bring high quality employment options to increase the city’s tax base.
The boundaries of the city are proposed to be between the interchange of Lightfighter Drive for the northern end, Gigling Road for the southern bit of it, First Avenue to the west and Eighth Street to the east. Seaside ensures there will plenty of scenic views of Moss Landing, Monterey Bay, Fort Ord National Monument and Elkhorn Slough.
The construction is proposed to be finalized between fall of 2019 and spring of 2020.