The Spaces Between

Whether you’re talking to bright-eyed prospective students visiting TXST for the first time or loyal alums waxing nostalgic about their college years, a common theme emerges—love for the natural Hill Country beauty of the San Marcos Campus. 

Creators of the 2025–2035 Campus Master Plan kept the outdoors top of mind when envisioning future development. The plan embraces TXST’s riverside setting along the Balcones Escarpment, including numerous open spaces and efforts to expand walkability and accessibility.

“One of the most exciting things to me about this Master Plan is not the buildings, but the stuff in between the buildings, the green space projects,” says Eric Algoe, TXST’s executive vice president for operations and chief financial officer. 

The Master Plan would link the Quad and Bobcat Trail to create a connected spine across campus, bisecting reimagined plazas along the way. It would also remove one wing of Derrick Hall to extend the Quad to Alkek Plaza. In that area—where the Quad meets Alkek Library and Trauth-Huffman Hall—the plan calls for removing staircases and replacing them with gradually sloped open spaces, public art, and a plaza to serve as a community gathering space. 

“We’ll have nearly a linear mile of straight-arrow pedestrian walkway through the heart of the campus,” Algoe explains. “Today, if you’re standing on the steps of Alkek and looking back toward Old Main, all you see is Derrick Hall. Once we remove Derrick and the stairs from that area, this project will allow you to drive a golf cart or use a wheelchair from Taylor-Murphy Hall over to Encino Hall or McCoy Hall without ever having to go up or down a stair.”

Spring Lake is another significant component of the Master Plan’s emphasis on the outdoors—so much so that the planning team created a separate “Spring Lake Vision Plan.” It outlines a series of projects east of Old Main incorporating Spring Lake, Sewell Park, and the historic fish hatchery ponds. 

“Spring Lake is a huge and valuable asset to the university, and we’re re-creating how you engage with it,” says Gordon Bohmfalk, TXST director of facilities planning, design, and construction. “It’s going to be difficult—there’s archaeology, endangered species, lots of topography, and 100-year and 500-year floodplain—but it’s a great vision.”

One of the biggest projects is the reconstruction of the campus gateway at the intersection of Aquarena Springs, University Drive, and East Sessom Drive (where Aquarena Springs bridges the river next to Sewell Park). The plan calls for replacing the Y-shaped intersection with a T-shaped intersection; raising the bridge over the river; and adding sidewalks under the bridge to connect Sewell Park with a trail to Spring Lake. 

“When you have a Y intersection, it’s awkward; you don’t know quite which way to look with people turning right and bicycles and scooters everywhere,” Bohmfalk says. “With a T intersection, it’s much safer. There will be obvious crosswalks, and then a trail underneath the bridge going down into Sewell Park.” 

Other notable outdoor projects proposed in the Master Plan include a continuation of Bobcat Trail below the Academic Services Building to link the campus center to Sewell Park; a restoration of the east slope of Chautauqua Hill below Old Main, including a new Bobcat Landing outdoor event space; and a 200-foot belltower for the traffic circle next to the J.C. Kellam Administration Building.

“Whether it’s outdoor green spaces or indoor communal spaces, it’s those areas to get together in groups or to study quietly alone that are necessary for an academic community,” Algoe says. “I think that’s where the real magic of this plan is going to unfold.”