The
best option appears to be to create a university facility for post-graduate
studies that would include an annex of schools with long-term leaseholds. The focus would be on mechanical and
electrical engineering in eco-friendly studies.
The south side of the facility could continue energy generation. The entire site would become a center for the
development of green energy. The parts
of the buildings that are not being used for energy generation would be used
for classrooms, offices and support areas for marine fisheries. The site would also allow for a conference center
for international conferences on green energies.
The
Dean of Cal Poly fully supports the project, as it's a much more cost-effective
way for universities to expand without the infrastructure costs incurred in
building their own. Ecobon partnered with
Hart/Howard Architects who specializes in university planning and
building. This facility would be a LEEDS
Platinum rated facility, which is the top-tier of green building and would be a
state of the art facility.
Mr.
Fee continued to explain that their focus is on getting public facilities, in
this case like Dynegy, involved with universities to develop sustainable,
eco-friendly options for development.
The result is non-competitive to local businesses and is created through
both private and public funding. It also
creates an annualized revenue stream for the city and Dynegy fully supports the
project. Time frame on the project will
be about 2-3 years in preconstruction and 2 years on phase one
construction. Mr. Fee then showed
architectural renderings of the proposed buildings and conference center. He then took several questions on his
presentation.