Foothill College leaders discussed May 3 moving forward with the development of a permanent site at the Onizuka naval air station in Sunnyvale. 

Currently, Foothill is in the process of retrieving the Air Force property in the Onizuka site from the U.S. Department of Education. In return for giving the surplus of free land, the property must be available for the public, which is the district’s intention.

“In a month or two, we’ll have the property in our hands,” said Charles Allen, executive director of facilities and operations for the district. 

The Foothill-De Anza District plans to open a facility that is much more than a standard campus center. Denise Swett, acting vice president of student development and associate vice president of Middlefield Campus and community programs, told meeting attendees. “The concept is a community center,” she said. “We’ll be encouraging families to come.”

According to a district press release, the amount of land given was 9.6 acres. However, in the meeting, college officials announced that the acreage allocated is now 9.2. 

“There’s a 99 percent possibility we’ll knock these buildings down, since they don’t meet the Division of State Architect standards,” said Dave Younger, the architect from Lionakis Beaumont Design Group Inc. who is overseeing the project. “By the time the construction is complete, we can expect to find a whole new set of buildings occupying the area.” 

The Onizuka Air Force Station is home to the historic Blue Cube, a pale blue windowless building that once operated military satellites. Concern was voiced over the historical value of the area, but Swett said her wishes were to keep “the history involved.” 

Within the corridors of the Blue Cube are multiple murals and signatures of the servicemen embedded into the artwork. The murals will more than likely be extracted from the building, but, photographers will first immortalize the paintings into pictures. 

There was a suggestion to set up a small museum in the newly-developed center to celebrate the history of the Onizuka space. 

Demolition is set to begin in the fall to level the space for the center.