SRJC Petaluma’s Mike Hall is a Top Real Estate Project Award winner

This comprehensive project revitalizes two buildings; one into a food service/bookstore building and the second into a Student Success Center. SRJC’s goal was to provide college lifestyle spaces and amenities that are welcoming, positive, collaborative and supportive that will cause students to linger on campus longer.

“The Petaluma campus was originally envisioned as commuter outpost for SRJC designed to support part-time students with a focus on getting them in and out, not hanging around,” said Phil Newsom, president of tBP/Architecture Inc.

“Research shows that keeping students on campus before and after classes fosters their success. The logic is that sticking around leads them to build cohorts critical to their support. Thus, it is important that we create built environments that encourage students to stay, hang out and collaborate centered around food and other activities.”

The existing Mike Smith Hall was renovated and transformed to become a new student welcome center designed to offer them a variety of engagement and support services. The estimated cost was $4,397,723 involving 4,334 square feet of space on the Petaluma campus.

The first project in the central neighborhood included a coffee/juice bar, a dining/living room, gaming center, laundry, and phone booths along with a resource center, student kitchen, an exterior patio dining area and the new welcome center.

The second project focused on space for a cyber center, the outreach coordinator and the student affairs office student club. It also included the student government office and assembly, space for the student success coordinator, “Think Rooms,” and areas for small/large workshops and storage.

Midstate Construction was the general contractor.

Correction, March 2, 2022: The name of tBP/Architecture was misspelled.