This piqued my interest at a City Council meeting in April when Councilmember Don Kuehne spoke of preliminary plans for Contra Costa College to open a satellite campus in Hercules…

What got me really fired up (literally) was the potential over the long-term, not just for a satellite campus for the local community college (which will hopefully become permanent, and is an essential element in ensuring quality higher education for local students), but for something bigger. Not a UC campus, mind you, and maybe not even a CSU campus outright (the system finances are too tight, and there is probably not enough space anyway), but what about a satellite campus for CSU East Bay?

CSU East Bay is based out of Hayward, and it has satellite campuses in Oakland and Concord. Why not Hercules? A campus in Hercules could tap into the West Contra Costa market which is wholly under-served by higher education, as well as the southern portions of the North Bay, including Vallejo. That could make sense. It would also be a driver for retail spending in the city, as well as increased social and cultural activities, and with the opportunities offered by transit connections (rail, ferry, etc.), the campus could be seen as an attractive alternative for local residents.

Next Tuesday, the City Council — acting as the Redevelopment Agency — will approve an agreement with Contra Costa College to provide college classes, effectively creating a satellite campus, on City-owned property (which includes just about every vacant parcel in the city now, but probably in the North Shore business park).