The San Benito Blueprint

[Image of “Building A” the first building for Gavilan College’s Hollister Campus. Taken 1/6/24]

Correction: A previous version of this post mentions that Dividend Homes will build Fairview Corners. We now understand the builder to be D. R. Horton.

Gavilan College Phase 1

Monday January 6th marked an exciting day for education in San Benito County as the Gavilan College Hollister Campus opened its doors to the public. The new campus includes 4 general purpose classrooms, a flex classroom, bio science classroom, bio science lab, chemistry lab, two prep labs, 2 computer labs, a cafe, a large configurable community room, learning resource center, library/quiet study room and offices for counselors, financial aid, admissions/records, and student government.

Phase 1 of the campus also included an access road, parking lot, shuttle stop, and utility connections. The access road is currently being reconfigured to allow access and exits to both the north and south. As initially built it only allowed access from the south and exits to the north, this road will continue to be reconfigured as the campus and its neighbor Fairview Corners, grow.

The building, approximately 34,000 sq ft, is built to serve about 1500 students.

[Photo of building map inside “Building A” taken at Gavilan College’s Hollister Campus on 1/6/24]

[Photo of the community room at the Gavilan College Hollister Campus taken 1/6/24]

Future of the Gavilan College Hollister Campus

[Image from the Gavilan College Facilities Master Plan, note this is a conceptual design, final building designs and layouts are subject to further planning]

When Gavilan College initially selected the Fairview Corner’s site it did so with the intention that it be not only a satellite campus, but a fully functioning, self-sustained campus, set to grow with the community. According to a BenitoLink interview with Serafin Fernandez, Gavilan’s director of capital projects, in about a year and a half’s time, the district will begin to assess what needs the community has, and begin planning for it’s next phase.

The Gavilan College Facilities Master Plan lays out a rough blueprint for the future campus’ design. The design, most recently drafted in 2018, includes a theater, library, 3 academic buildings, a student services building, gym, locker room, pool, football, baseball, soccer, and softball stadiums.

The San Benito Blueprint, through a public records request, was able to find the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the campus drafted way back in 2008.

The EIR points out a number of interesting facts about the site selection and potential development of the site. For the school itself, the buildings in the image above plus a 70 unit student/faculty housing site with 35,000 sq ft of campus supporting retail on the ground floor. These uses are available to the college with no further approvals from the county if they are college associated. Any uses outside of faculty/student housing including affordable community housing would need to go through the county’s planning process.

Beyond land use the EIR also highlight traffic mitigation needed for the project. This includes Gavilan/Fairview Corners paying for the signalization of Cielo Vista/Fairview and 25/Fairview among others. Other mitigation needs include excavating “bowls” for the various athletic facilities to minimize noise levels.

Upon full build-out, the campus will be able to support 3500 students and about 200 jobs.

[Gavilan’s facilities Master Plan details in orange where the retail/housing component could go.]

[Image from the 2008 EIR showing the potential layout of the campus, this shows the evolution of the campus’ development]

Fairview Corners Development

Along with the college comes its development partner Fairview Corners LLC (previously Dividend Homes now D.R. Horton.) pictured in the light yellow above. The college partnered with the developer to reduce utility costs to the district. The college mentions in the initial EIR that the plan was to build a fully sustained community.

The development agreement and Fairview Specific Plan for the property (approved in 2012), allows for up to 220 homes (last glance at maps has this development at 189). The terms of the agreement are valid for up to 15 years from the date of execution. The agreement was finalized on November 6th, 2012, which means, unless given an extension by the county’s planning department, the developer has until November 6th, 2027. As of today 1/10, the county has not responded to inquiries regarding an extension, we will update this post if a response is given.

The development notably secured water services from Sunnyslope water and sewer services from the city in late 2023. Other than water/sewer services, there has been no notable movement on the development since.

My Take

The Gavilan College Hollister Campus will benefit the community for generations to come. It removes educational barriers for residents of the county giving another reason to stay in town and is currently designed to be built to grow with the area.

The new campus also is a huge win for traffic relief in Hollister. The wide array of classes offered will reduce the need for students to commute to and from the Gilroy campus on Highway 25.

When it comes to Hollister’s housing/jobs imbalance this college can be a beacon for economic development. A summary of the economic impact report created for the California Community Colleges states for every $1 invested in community colleges, students gain an extra $5 in earnings and taxpayers see a $2 increase in local tax revenue. College’s typically partner with local industry to prepare the locals to enter the workforce. Gavilan represents a huge opportunity for this community and I’m excited to see where its growth will take us!

For more information on the Hollister Campus see the Gavilan College Website: https://www.gavilan.edu/hollister/index.php