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On a recent sunny April morning, Ruben Sainos and his family huddled together to take a selfie on the Cal Poly Pomona campus.
The family’s backdrop was the iconic limestone building that has towered above campus for the past 29 years, making it one of the most visible landmarks in the Pomona Valley.
But after years of financial and safety concerns, demolition of the nearly 54,000-square-foot Classroom, Laboratory and Administration building and the adjoining registrar’s building are officially underway.
Come fall semester, the CLA tower will be gone though the classroom section of the complex will remain. Work to prepare the building for demolition began in March, including the removal of unsalvageable equipment and furniture, and the full teardown is scheduled to begin in late May after commencement. Demolition is expected to be completed by mid-August.
Demolition of the iconic Cal Poly Pomona CLA Tower at Cal Poly Pomona has begun as seen on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. The reason for the demolition is because the building is sitting atop an active earthquake fault that makes future construction on the site unfeasible. Demolition of the 30- year old building is scheduled to be concluded by the fall semester and will re placed with a multi-use green space for the campus community. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Demolition of the iconic Cal Poly Pomona CLA Tower at Cal Poly Pomona has begun as seen on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. The reason for the demolition is because the building is sitting atop an active earthquake fault that makes future construction on the site unfeasible. Demolition of the 30- year old building is scheduled to be concluded by the fall semester and will re placed with a multi-use green space for the campus community. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Cubicles inside the iconic Cal Poly Pomona CLA Tower at Cal Poly Pomona sit in a room on the first floor has demolition of the building has begun as seen on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. The reason for the demolition is because the building is sitting atop an active earthquake fault that makes future construction on the site unfeasible. Demolition of the 30- year old building is scheduled to be concluded by the fall semester and will re placed with a multi-use green space for the campus community. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Senior Project Manager Bruyn Bevans locks a gate outside of the iconic Cal Poly Pomona CLA Tower and adjoining Registration building at Cal Poly Pomona on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 as demolition of the building has begun. The reason for the demolition is because the building is sitting atop an earthquake fault that makes future construction on the site unfeasible. Demolition of the 30- year old building is scheduled to be concluded by the fall semester and will re placed with a multi-use green space for the campus community. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Senior Project Manager Bruyn Bevans walks near the now closed main entrance of the iconic Cal Poly Pomona CLA Tower and adjoining Registration building at Cal Poly Pomona on Wednesday, April 13, 2022 as demolition of the building has begun. The reason for the demolition is because the building is sitting atop an earthquake fault that makes future construction on the site unfeasible. Demolition of the 30- year old building is scheduled to be concluded by the fall semester and will re placed with a multi-use green space for the campus community. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
Demolition of the iconic Cal Poly Pomona CLA Tower at Cal Poly Pomona has begun as seen on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. The reason for the demolition is because the building is sitting atop an active earthquake fault that makes future construction on the site unfeasible. Demolition of the 30- year old building is scheduled to be concluded by the fall semester and will re placed with a multi-use green space for the campus community. (Photo by Will Lester, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin/SCNG)
The fate of the CLA building has taken many turns over the years, including several unsuccessful attempts to save it. Since its completion in 1993, the building has taxed operational budgets and personnel due to a number of construction flaws and mechanical system failures, according to Bruyn Bevans, a senior project manager at Cal Poly Pomona.
It also sits on an earthquake fault, something that was realized years after the tower’s completion, Bevans said.
“It wasn’t known at the time they built the building but with new technologies that information came out later,” he added. “The cost of the seismic upgrade that would be necessary to maintain the building just didn’t make financial sense to keep the space.”
Constructing a new building on the site is not possible, as building codes prohibit construction on land that sits atop a fault line. Removal of the tower also scratches one of the highest priorities off the seismic safety list for the Cal State University Chancellor’s Office, according to officials.
Those hoping to see a big explosion during the demolition will be disappointed. Crews will be using a crane and grabbing excavator to bring the CLA and registrar buildings down.
A scaffold will be placed upon the structure and the building will be removed one floor at a time, Bevans said. This method is expected to produce less noise, cause fewer disruptions to nearby classrooms, and protect the nearby Aratani Japanese Garden, as well as underground electrical and water lines which feed into nearby buildings.
Faculty and staff members who have offices in the classroom side of the CLA building will be temporarily relocated during the teardown for safety and noise concerns.
According to the university, the classroom section of the CLA complex doesn’t have the same structural flaws as the tower. To date, the classrooms have withstood earthquakes and not shown any signs of damage.
Meanwhile, there are proposals in the university’s upcoming Campus Master Plan to renovate and upgrade classrooms in the complex.
After the tower’s removal, plans are in place to transform that portion of the complex into a multi-use green space with room for outdoor seating and study areas. The work is expected to extend through March 2023.
“The demolition of the building represents the best option from both a financial perspective and a safety standpoint,” facilities Senior Associate Vice President Aaron Klemm said in a news release in March. “Being good stewards of the campus means making decisions based on what offers the most benefit to future generations of students.”
A time capsule embedded inside one of the tower’s walls is expected to be relocated. A plaque on the ground to mark where the CLA building stood has been discussed as a possible way to honor the structure, according to Bevans.
The CLA tower’s demise is a bittersweet one for some Cal Poly Pomona alumni who trekked the eight-story structure during their undergrad years.
“Looking back on it, I had created some of the most fondest memories in that building,” said alumnus Christopher Osuala, a former Associated Students Inc. president. “There’s this kind of sadness that the iconic landmark is coming down. I mean, you see it coming off the 10 Freeway, you can’t miss it.”
For alumnus Manuel Muñoz, his fondest memory of the CLA tower was when he got lost in it. It was his first time on campus as a transfer student, he recalled, and he couldn’t find his way through the tower’s tight quarters.
“It so happens that I got lost getting my ID on my first day,” Muñoz said. “After all that, I walked to the top of the building, looked out and saw a view of campus that I never will forget. That always stuck with me.”
But such sentimental feelings toward the building haven’t resonated much with current students, Bevans said, who teaches in the civil engineering department. The tower has been closed since 2018.
“Most of the students don’t have any connection to (the CLA tower). A lot have probably never stepped foot inside,” Bevans said. “There was no need to.”
Operations once housed at the CLA tower moved to the 138,000-square-foot Student Services Building in 2019, allowing the university to better accommodate students and streamline administrative services.
In recent years, the tower hasn’t done much but loom over a mostly empty campus due to the pandemic canceling most in-person activity.
“The building is more a landmark for basically the entire area because you can see it coming off the 10 and 57 freeways and when you look onto campus from there, you see this building first,” Bevans said. “So when it leaves you’re not gonna see this giant structure anymore.”
As Sainos wrapped up a campus tour for his son Diego, his wife, Yuko Kubota, said she wanted to take one last look at the sky-scraping structure.
“This is one of the symbols on the campus and really gives Cal Poly character,” Kubota said, adding she was sorry to see the tower go. “It’s a shame but it’s time.”
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