CVSan Breaks Ground for New Headquarters
CVSan officially broke ground June 1 for its new headquarters at the corner of Castro Valley Boulevard and Center Street.
Castro Valley Sanitary District (CVSan) officially broke ground on June 1 for its new Operations and Engineering headquarters at the corner of Castro Valley Boulevard and Center Street.
“We are really looking forward to this being our new home,” said Naomi Lue, Zero Waste Supervisor.
CVSan’s General Manager, Roland P. Williams, Jr., gave a brief history of the district, which was formed in 1939. In 1930 there were only 100 families in Castro Valley, Williams said, and there were no sanitation services at that time. Between 1930 and 1947, Castro Valley grew to 1,700 homes. Now there are more than 66,000 people living here, and the area continues to grow.
In 1995 Williams began working for Castro Valley Sanitary. He was one of only seven employees there at that time. As the population of our area grew, CVSan also outgrew its original small office. It moved to its current location on Marshall Street in 1997. The building was designed for 13 employees but has been remodeled twice to accommodate more. Now there are 23 employees—requiring some equipment to be located in storage nearby and some functions to be temporarily housed offsite.
Following a multi-year approval process, CVSan will now officially begin work on its new 22,000-square-foot LEED-certified location, targeting completion toward the end of 2024. It will have an eight-foot sound wall and one-way traffic to minimize “backup sounds” for its adjacent neighbors. The new building will be close to the street, with a “Demonstration Garden” in front showcasing sustainable gardening.
Members of the public and numerous local officials were at the groundbreaking ceremony. Castro Valley resident Terrie Light says she’s always been impressed with CVSan.
“In college, I read ‘Silent Spring’ and decided I wanted to recycle,” she says. “We moved here in 1997 and were immediately given a green waste compost bin. I’ve been thrilled to use it. We found out Castro Valley was way ahead of its time, ahead of Berkeley and Oakland.”
CVSan provides for the collection of wastewater and oversees the collection and proper handling of solid waste from homes and businesses located in its service area. It also holds recycling events and teaches all local 3rd graders about the “four Rs” — recycle, reduce, reuse, and rot.
The new headquarters will be located at 21195 Center Street. More information is available at cvsan.org, (510) 537-0757.