University Branch Moves to New Quarters

The Ventura branch of Cal State Northridge has moved from its cramped mid-town quarters to a modern redwood and glass office building near the Ventura Freeway.

College officials announced this week that a lease has been signed for an 11,000-square-foot suite in the Seaward Center at 2151 Alessandro Drive. Classes will begin there Sept. 6.

The new location, which is expected to attract about 1,500 third- and fourth-year students, will serve as an interim facility while Cal State continues its protracted efforts to secure a site for a Ventura County campus.

Larger Facility

The center is about 2,500 square feet larger than the old facility. Instead of six classrooms and three small seminar rooms, it will have space for 10 classrooms and a library. The college already has more than 14,000 books in storage that it has had no room to display.

The Ventura branch offers nine undergraduate degrees, seven master’s degrees, three education credentials and one certificate program. Fifty-six courses are scheduled for fall.

The outgrown university center on Maple Street was founded 14 years ago as a joint venture between Cal State and UC Santa Barbara, but Cal State severed that relationship this summer.

The University of California, however, will continue to offer classes at the original mid-town site.