Industrial Technology Starts to Show Age

The campus staple Grosse Industrial Technology is beginning to show signs of severe decay as rotting wood, chipping walls, and 50’s era features overshadow the active building.

Built in 1954, the building now hosts students in the Jordan College of Agriculture Sciences and Technology. The building is active in hosting student and faculty events, lecture halls, and modern package and processing equipment for students hands-on learning. But more than 70 years after completion, students are now seeing the affects of building neglect.

The building even hosted a ribbon cutting event on November 2nd, dedicating new manufacturing technology in room 152. Faculty, staff, donors, and members of the media got live demonstrations on how the cutting-edge technology worked. The event happened right in the middle of the buildings outdoor area, surrounded by decaying walls.

The new and existing machinery is used for both Fresno State students and by companies, where they send employees to be trained using the buildings amentities.

Despite the old age of the building, the students who actively attend classes do what they can to keep the energy alive. Trophy cases on the indoor portions of the building are intact and full of student work, and many classrooms were occupied by lectures.

Through the wear and tear, the CSU system have announced plans in the past to address the aging giant, including an entire demolition of the B wing. This proposed 2024 project would also see modernization to the main IT structure and new additions to the Agricultural Mechanics builidng nearby, but these plans never went into affect.

For now, IT students will continue to face the eyesores around the building while campus faces an estimated $500 million deferred maintenance pricetag. The figure represents the entirety of campus needs for proper modernization in facilities.

It is unclear whether or not the CSU nor the University have plans in the works to address Industrial Technology.