Preliminary plans for the proposed Southside Campus include several features for students, including a pond, tennis courts, fitness center and even a biking and jogging trail. But it’s the plan for parking that students may be most excited about.
Design and architecture company Gensler showed the preliminary plans for the campus at the Board of Regents’ Feb. 9 meeting.
Illustrations provided by Del Mar College
The regents plan for the culinary school to be the focal point on the Southside Campus. Option B and C feature the culinary school on a pond. All of the preliminary plans contain two parking garages for easy parking.
“We held focus groups on the East and West campus and all of the students were concerned about parking,” Gensler Design Director Alan Coyler said.
The location is 93.6 acres and is a long, narrow rectangle shape that spans over five city blocks. The future campus will be on the corner of Rodd Field Road and Yorktown Boulevard.
“I think the future for the location is very exciting,” said Jim Boggs, District 5 regent. “It is totally different than anything around here. It will be a game changer.”
The campus will be able to hold 5,000 cars in its final phase of completion, or one for every four students. The process will be approximately three to five phases.
There were three options for design presented at the regents’ workshop, all of which plan to feature the culinary program at DMC.
In one of the designs the culinary school was located on the pond paired next to a community center.
“We wanted to create a design to promote a healthy lifestyle,” Colyer said. “We want the campus to be a place where students want to stay on campus.”
Gensler plans to build taller buildings, around four stories, to create more open green space and to help with wind protection.
“We need students to come to campus and stay,” DMC President Mark Escamilla said. “To do that we need food and technology available to students.”
The designs are preliminary and may change based on funding and development.
“We need to look 25 years into the future to make sure the campus is relevant,” board chairman Trey McCampbell said. “This needs to be the campus of the future.”
Gensler and DMC have partnered to create a website to track the progress of the campus. Visit www.delmartomorrow.com to track the Southside Campus process.
Schedule for the 2016 Master Plans
Feb. 23: Executive plan
March 8: BOR meeting
March 24: Faculty session/public engagement
April 14: Student session/public engagement
May 3: 75% Mater plan review
June 7: 99% Mater plan review
June 14: BOR meeting
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