City College of San Francisco’s new one-stop spot for students to access services opened to the public on Tuesday after nearly two years of construction.
The $133 million, 72,000-square-foot Student Success Center will be home to 30 student-serving programs, including academic counseling, the career center, transfer center and more.
Workers were putting the final touches on the building. | Anne Marie Kristoff/Ingleside Light
“I think the services are very good,” said Sophia Huang, a second-year student and graphic design major who sought services there on Tuesday morning. “I just got here, and someone just asked me if I needed help. It’s very sweet.”
The building’s two floors include dedicated student working spaces, large conference rooms, faculty office spaces, the admissions & records office, several resource centers such as the Womens, Queer and City DREAM and the offices for programs such as the Rising Scholars!, Student Supporting Students, Guardian Scholars and HARTS and SparkPoint.
“We believe that this center will serve as a transformative space where students can access resources that will not only support their holistic development but also enhance their sense of belonging and agency as they achieve their personal, academic and career goals,” Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Lisa Cooper-Wilkins said.
While not all of the college’s student-serving programs are located in the building, Cooper-Wilkins said they were intentional about ensuring the remaining services were located close by, such as the Student Union, Student Health Center, several multicultural retention programs and others.
The project, funded by bonds passed by voters in 2001, 2005 and 2020, broke ground in 2023 and required the demolition of Conlan Hall.
The building has a modern, light-filled design. | Anne Marie Kristoff/Ingleside Light
The project was built by XL Construction and designed by the San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler. Its exterior is outfitted with terracotta panels and a glass façade. It is all-electric, LEED Silver certified and net-zero ready.
The building and its landscaping give new life to the long-drab corner of Ocean Avenue and Frida Kahlo Way by adding a staircase, plants and trees, seating and bioretention swales to control stormwater.
The well-loved statue The Whales sits in the building's courtyard. | Alex Mullaney/Ingleside Light
The building was not quite done on Tuesday. Work crews were putting on the final touches. Other additions are in the works. “Sentinels,” an Arts Commission-owned sculpture loaned to the college in the 1970s, will be located in front of the building, along with a new digital marquee. The college's Roger Baird Gallery is expected to be set up in the Student Success Center, too.
Photojournalist Franchon Smith takes a picture of a man posing with Dudley Carter's Bighorn Mountain Ram. | Alex Mullaney/Ingleside Light
DC Benn, a chemistry tutor with Student Tutoring and Resource Center, said the building is a wonderful addition to the campus, noting the favorable design similar to the campus’s STEAM building and how it acts as a one-stop shop for students to access various services.
“I think we’re getting ready for the 21st century, finally,” Benn said. “I think it’s an opportunity for students to get services easier and better, and it’s kind of the idea of what the modern workplace is going to be like, and I’m glad that the college is going toward that path.”
Anne Marie Kristoff (she/her) is a recent graduate from San Francisco State University's journalism program. She enjoys writing about the arts, entertainment and nature.
