New Tour of Duty for Base

Guided by flashlights through abandoned barracks and helicopter hangars, South Orange County Community College District administrators and trustees got their first glimpse Friday at their 134-acre windfall from the federal government.

During a tour of the former Tustin Marine Corps Air Station, school officials envisioned classrooms, dormitories for international students and cutting-edge technology labs--pieces that will make up the Tustin Learning Center, a satellite campus for Irvine Valley and Saddleback colleges.

The base was decommissioned in July. The Federal Department of Education is sponsoring the eventual transfer of the property to the college district, similar to what it has done with other closed bases around the country.

“This is an exciting opportunity to serve the students and community,” said Don Goodwin, vice chancellor of the Tustin Learning Center. “These facilities were left in pretty decent shape and were used correctly until the Marines packed up and shipped out.”

Educators have envisioned a school for culinary arts and hotel management, housing to accommodate 1,000 students, and a Hollywood-quality sound stage to complement the district’s virtual reality center.

And though Goodwin expects to begin providing services to students by the fall 2000 semester, there are a few obstacles to overcome.

One is signing a lease with the city to even occupy the property. Tustin officials are still waiting for a master lease agreement from the Navy. It was expected last month but now will not be finalized until the first of the year. The city will act as steward of the property until the final conveyance of it to the district.

Then there’s financing the learning center. The district has budgeted about $400,000 for the project, according to Chancellor Cedric Sampson--an amount even the district acknowledges is not nearly enough.

School officials said the financially strapped community college district does not expect any state assistance and cannot assume any further bond debt.

The money budgeted will likely go toward planning and assessing the 45 buildings inherited from the Marines, all of which will require renovation, if not demolition.

Refurbishing the dormitories is a priority, Goodwin said. Using them as rental housing for the increasing number of foreign students wanting to attend the district’s other schools is expected to provide the revenue to fund the development of the other facilities. Additionally, school officials are talking to two private developers interested in investing in the refurbishment.

Under that scenario, district officials said, the developers would take out bonds to fund the restoration and then would be able to lease office and light industrial space in the buildings, eventually selling the facilities to the district.

Officials are also hoping to save a second helicopter hangar, scheduled for demolition because of the planned extension of Warner Avenue. Sampson said some purpose could be found for the $7-million building and hopes an arrangement can be made to have the road wind around it. “We’re at a very flexible time,” he said. “If we want something, we just need to ask.”