A new building opened at Cal Poly Technology Park, marking the end of the second phase of expansion for the $12.2 million project. The final lease was signed in November 2025.
The two-story, 16,200-square-foot facility is intended to foster further collaboration between students and industry collaborators. Tenants are expected to complement Cal Poly’s technical programs and operate through applied research and workforce development.
“The main driving factor for Tech Park is to complement the student success with opportunities to get job experience while they’re here on campus,” said Cal Poly Partner’s associate executive director of Real Estate Development & Services Jim Dunning.
The master plan for Cal Poly Technology Park expansion plans for a 120,000 square-foot campus, with additional phases planned but not yet funded, according to Dunning. The initiative intends to provide more physical space to connect business communities with students, facilitating an exchange of technical knowledge and expertise.
The new building expands on the original 25,000-square foot facility constructed in 2010. The delay in expansion was largely due to difficulties with funding. They eventually became eligible for EDA funding after a disaster declaration for wildfires and floods.
“They like to invest in resiliency,” Dunning said. “We can build space for tech companies to come, and that really builds the economic base to provide resiliency that helps us through times of natural disasters.”
The new building is also aimed to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, which ensures new buildings and renovations are sustainable. California State University requires all new facilities to be equivalent to LEED Silver Level.
Building 83 contains both fully finished spaces for tenant occupancy and space left for future improvement or occupancy. Spaces available for tenants range from 200 square feet up to 3,000 to accommodate different needs. The first tenant for the new building moved in last April.
“The main intent for our tenant is that they are going to engage with faculty or students and staff in some way,” Dunning said. “It’s a little bit dependent on the spaces that we build out and how many we can accommodate.”
According to Dunning, there are currently around 20 tenants, with future expansion hopefully bringing the number up to 75. There are currently seven tenants residing in the latest facility addition in Technology Park, including SLO County Fire/CAL FIRE, the U.S. Geological Survey California Water Science Center and Harrow Services – Career Consulting and the Forward Thinking Company.
“I’d encourage all the students to go and check out each of the companies because they’re all going to have a little bit different kind of opportunity for students,” Dunning said. “It could look like anything from just a student working part time for these companies to them working on a senior project that’s sponsored by the company, or an internship or a research project.”
According to Dunning, there is currently at least one student per tenant involved with Technology Park.
Building blueprints detailing 30,000 square foot projects are prepared for future expansion, but Cal Poly Partners is first focused on fundraising. Dunning points out how they are searching for additional grants from federal and state sources and looking into potential public and private partners.
Once funding is secured, the plans usually follow a year of design and entitlement followed by 18 months of construction, according to Dunning.
