As the demand for student housing increases, Cal State Monterey Bay’s (CSUMB) administration is taking a page out of the university’s history book as they plan to fashion Gavilan Hall (Building 201) back into dormitories. Interim Vice President for Administration and Finance Alan Fisher hopes to break ground on production sooner rather than later.
Brainstorming for this project began around June last year and was inspired by the number of student applications they received for the Fall 2024 semester. After expanding housing limitations across campus to fit more beds per dorm, Fisher decided a more permanent solution was warranted.
“I was driving by it one day, and I was told that it was a dormitory before. And because it was a dormitory before, I thought, well, we should look into making it a dormitory again,” Fisher said.
Before being remodeled into office spaces, Building 201 was one of the university’s first residential halls. Since the late 2000s, the space has been home to the KAZU radio station, the Title IX office and the Extended Education office amongst other occupants. In the midst of this new project, administration is currently unsure where to place the building’s current occupants.
The redesign will feature as little reconstruction as possible due to the building’s current function as an office as well as Fisher’s goal of remaining cost-effective. This might prove difficult as Fisher plans to extend renovations past Gavilan Hall.
“As we grow housing, we are also looking at dining, we’re also looking at all of the parking, everything else that goes around with a campus that’s growing,” said Fisher. “The cost of the building is not the only cost we have. We have a significant number of other costs that we have to take into consideration.”
Fisher also expressed having to factor in the rising cost of labor and materials. He worries that production could be halted if prices continue to rise. Another area of concern comes from the governor’s office issuing budget constraints across the California State University (CSU) system. However, if production continues this project is estimated to cost millions of dollars over the timeframe of two years and increase student housing’s maximum capacity anywhere from 165 to 214 beds.
“I would say we’re probably 70% committed to moving forward with this,” Fisher said. “I’m not sure there’s another building on campus that would lend itself to the kind of renovation that we’re talking about.”
Gavilan Hall is no stranger to renovations. The building’s foundation was laid before the university’s emergence in 1995. Before CSUMB, there was Fort Ord, an active military base that utilized Building 201 to house soldiers.
Gavilan Hall’s transition from housing soldiers to housing university students mirrors the journey of Mary Beth (MB) Robertson, a Fort Ord soldier stationed at Building 201 from 1987-1988 and a CSUMB student from 1997-1999.
Robertson said, “I thought that was so funny that the freshman dorm ended up being my old unit. It was kind of a full circle moment for me, it was like trippy.”