New outdoor community spaces on campus
Cal Poly corporation has been putting plans into action to revamp outdoor areas on campus. New outdoor community spaces have been added to Mott Lawn, the PAC Plaza and Campus Market.
This is a small part of Cal Poly corporation’s $80 million project to revamp different areas of campus. Cal Poly Corporation Executive Andrea Barnes is managing the project and says that changes are being made to create meal capacity for students.
“The more food we can serve throughout the whole area the less pressure it places inside the campus market,” Barnes said. “And really, it’s the same for the PAC Lawn space. Vista Grande is very busy in the evening so there’s food trucks set up at night for buying capacity. I’d say it’s both – it’s creating capacity as well as just creating inviting spaces for students to enjoy.”
Students have been taking note of these changes on campus, and Barnes says the feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive.”
Fifth year mechanical engineering student Eli Silva has been making use of the new spaces at the campus market.
“I think I noticed that they have those new wood tables over there which are nice and longer,” Silva said. “You can get more people sitting together. I’m able to utilize it with my group we’re working on a project and meeting together.”
Fourth year experience industry management student Chloe Guthrie says she believes the outdoor community spaces are a great addition to campus.
“As a freshman, I feel like we didn’t have as many hangout spots on campus to either grab food from food trucks or just do homework and hang out with friends in between classes,” Guthrie said. “I’m just really excited to see how campus develops. It’s changed a lot since I’ve been a freshman to a senior now.”
Other areas of campus being revamped in the next few years as a part of the project include Spanos Stadium and Kennedy Library.
The renovations on Kennedy Library are expected to begin in June 2023 and the university is hoping to break ground on Spanos Stadium in the spring.
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