Cal Poly Maritime Academy closes Anchor Center in downtown Vallejo

by John Glidden | glid24@protonmail.com | November 13, 2025

VALLEJO – Cal Poly Maritime Academy’s push into downtown Vallejo has stalled, for now, as officials confirmed that the Anchor Center, meant to offer space to students and the community, has closed.

“Staff reductions and attrition in recent years led to programming being removed from the university’s downtown Anchor Center location,” wrote Matt Lazier, assistant vice president, communications and media relations, Cal Poly, in an email to JohnGlidden.com. “The site is currently used for storage and university archives.”

Recently, all the windows and doors on the first floor of the two-story, 11,844 square foot property, located at 201 Georgia Street, have been boarded up due to crime.

“We have hardened the space and increased campus police patrols there in recent weeks after several burglaries,” Lazier added.

Lazier said that the future plans for the space are currently under discussion.

Officials from the university and city of Vallejo held a ribbon-cutting almost seven years ago to mark the new partnership between the two agencies, celebrating Cal Maritime’s attempt to be more active in the city of Vallejo.

At that time, the Anchor Center, opened steps from its current location, inside 253 and 255 Georgia Street to house community educational programing and rental space for outside groups.

“This is an important day for the city of Vallejo, to have this institution, that has such a wonderful reputation nationally, open a location in downtown Vallejo,” former Vallejo mayor Tony Intintoli told the Vallejo Times-Herald in late January 2019.

More than 18 months later, the university announced that the California Maritime Academy Foundation purchased 201 Georgia Street for $1.9 million with the intent of moving the Anchor Center into that location.

“Owning 201 Georgia Street strengthens our connection to downtown Vallejo and gives us an opportunity to grow Cal Maritime’s presence there, extending the mission of the University beyond the confines of the main campus,” said Robert Arp, then-vice president of advancement and executive director of the Cal Maritime Foundation in an October 2020 news release.

253 and 255 Georgia is part of the Georgia Vista Center, which spans 241-255 Georgia. The 35,605 square-foot building is on the market for $3.9 million.

Most recently, the charter school, Elite Public Schools had plans to build a high school in the building. The Vallejo Planning Commission in March 2024 approved a plan to build the school inside the retail building, however, the Vallejo City Council overturned that decision on appeal.

Last November, the California State University Board of Trustees approved the integration of the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and California State University Maritime Academy. The merger took place officially on July 1, 2025.

“The decision to integrate the two institutions came from a need to address fiscal challenges at Cal Maritime,” officials said. “Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was chosen because the two universities share a similar educational approach, preparing students for future careers through hands-on, immersive learning.”