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E-mail StoryCSUB set for growth
Offices, museum among some projects coming to campus
| Wednesday, Jul 4 2007 10:20 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Mar 14 2008 8:28 PM
The landscape of Cal State Bakersfield may drastically change within the next few years.
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Two public-private partnerships may dot the 376-acre campus in southwest Bakersfield:
* A four- to six-story office building
* An interactive children's museum.
The university ended negotiations with David Crisp Monday to build two 24-story towers with luxury condos, a hotel, and office and retail space.
The talks ended because Crisp could not confirm he had the equity investments and/or financing sufficient to cover expected project costs estimated at $300 million to $400 million by June 15, according to a memo from university President Horace Mitchell released Monday.
The Towers project appealed to Ken Beurmann, a recent Cal State graduate. He was the school's student body president in 2006-07.
"I was really for the twin towers," Beurmann said Tuesday. "It really sounded like a huge project not just for the school but for Bakersfield itself."
In the coming months, the university will issue a request for proposals for a hotel and conference center.
The remaining two projects received conceptual approval from the California State University system's board of trustees in November 2006 and in May.
Because they are on state-owned land, they are sovereign and not subject to local ordinances and approvals.
They have to comply with the trustees' policies and procedures and the California Environmental Quality Act, said David Rosso, chief of land use and environmental planning for CSU.
"If your (environmental impact report) is not certified, then the specific project approval cannot be taken by the trustees," Rosso said. "That's true with any development project in California, whether it's on public or private property."
Rosso said it typically takes six months to a year for an EIR to be prepared, published and have its public review period.
In addition, trustees must review project business plans and approve final building plans.
Depending on a project's size, it can take six months to two years for its business terms to be negotiated, said Colleen Nickles, assistant vice chancellor for financial services for CSU.
Here's an update on where the two remaining projects stand:
Gregory D. Bynum and Associates
Developer Greg Bynum has proposed a four- to six-story office building at the northeast corner of Camino Media and Haggin Oaks Boulevard. It may cost between $25 million and $32 million to build. The building would provide market-rate space for various commercial, public or nonprofit tenants. These tenants would be required to have plans for significant collaborations with one or more university schools or departments.
Campus tenants could lease space in the building, too.
Bynum said attorneys are reviewing the main lease agreement. He's hopeful that may be completed sometime this month.
In the meantime, preliminary site feasibility studies are underway -- utility and sewer connections are being examined and soil samples are being analyzed.
These studies will help inform the environmental impact reports for the projects, Rosso said.
Bakersfield Adventures for the Mind
Jillian Fritch-Stump, spokeswoman for the children's museum, said Tuesday that the details of its lease agreement with the university are being ironed out. Those terms may be determined in early August.
"I think that's a very reasonable amount of time. I feel confident that it's going to be an agreement that's workable for BAM and for CSUB," she said.
The museum group is getting ready to do site analysis work.
The $15 million project would be built in phases. Funds would come from private foundations, state and federal grants and corporate and individual donors.
The 35,000-square-foot facility may be near the Facility for Animal Care and Treatment and would feature interactive exhibits about Kern County.