The University’s Town Center Project, which will begin construction in 2027, aims to redesign the center of campus from Tressider to Meyer Green, including White Plaza and, eventually, Old Union. The proposed changes seek to make the area more communal and provide spaces for gatherings, events and interactions between students and faculty. 

Olivia Sun ’25, who sits on the project’s advisory committee, told The Daily that the project hopes to transform White Plaza from “a place in passing” into somewhere “people can convene and enjoy time as a third space.”

White Plaza will remain the primary campus location for free expression and protest, per the Town Center Project website, but the area encompassing White Plaza and the bookstore will significantly change.

The centerpiece of the project will be a new commons area. The bookstore and post office will be turned into open-air, enclosed areas for people to socialize and attend events. University spokesperson Luisa Rapport wrote that “a reconfigured bookstore” will aim to meet campus needs. Sale of merchandise will likely be relocated to another area on campus where tourists often visit.

Anna Roth ’28, a member of the frosh council, expressed concern about where the bookstore and post office could be moved. She said she enjoys their current “centralized” location.

Vivian Shepherd-Mayen ’26, a barista at the bookstore’s cafe, hopes that an equivalent to the bookstore will be built. She added that tourists, recently admitted students or recently signed student-athletes come to the bookstore to celebrate and buy merchandise for themselves and their families. 

Shepherd-Mayen said she thinks those who work at the bookstore “would be really sad,” about its removal, emphasizing that the bookstore is “really accessible for jobs, especially as a student, because it’s on campus and the hours are super flexible.”

The town center concept emerged from Stanford’s Long Range Vision, a 2019 engagement process that identified a community preference for a new space “for gathering, sharing ideas and play available to the broad Stanford community,” wrote Kathleen Kavanaugh, co-chair of the Town Center Advisory Committee and director of Stanford Real Estate Development.

Developments on the Town Center Project slowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, then restarted in 2023. In 2024, over 850 people — around one-third of whom were students — shared their thoughts through focus groups and pulse surveys to further shape the program.

“The goal of the project is to transform the heart of campus into a more vibrant, dynamic center of activity that responds to our community’s changing needs and build on the area’s place as a comfortable, inspiring gathering spot for generations to come,” Kavanaugh wrote in an email to The Daily. 

“What’s most exciting are the new and expanded ways this area can be a hub for social and academic experiences,” Kavanaugh added.

For Sun, the most important aspect of the project is the possibility of a student-governed space, which she hopes can be dynamic, entrepreneurial and an easy place to host events. Shepherd-Mayen echoed her excitement about this, saying it could make hosting events easier.

French professor Dan Edelstein, a member of the project’s advisory committee, wrote that he hopes the Town Center Project will provide “the chance to bring more civic spirit and social activity to campus.” Edelstein added that, growing up in Europe, town squares were “always the site of bustling activity.” He hopes to see a similar community spirit at Stanford result from the project.

The Town Center Project will also provide students and faculty with spaces to connect beyond the classroom. “A major goal is for faculty to become more integrated into the everyday experiences of students,” Sun said.

Sun believes this will “transform the intellectual conversations that happen” on campus. “The goal is to make it this hub for the entire community,” including faculty and students, she said. 

Roth said that she likes the idea “of a space where faculty and students come together” and suggested the new spaces could enable coffee chats with professors.

The timeline for the Town Center Project is long and construction is not set to start until late 2027. Concept and site approvals by the Board of Trustees are planned for the next academic year. Updates on progress and the project timeline will be posted on the Town Center Project website.

Roth expressed concern about how long the project is going to take, saying she worries it might be “a lot of hassle.”

“For the entirety of our senior year, is it just going to be construction in that area?” Roth asked.

Despite these concerns, Sun expressed optimism about the project’s effects on students. “Stanford’s campus is definitely a beautiful place but there are elements of it that don’t feel like it was [designed] completely by students, for students,” Sun said. She said that she hopes the project will allow students to “feel like this is [their] home and a space [they] can contribute to.”

Correction: This article was updated with comment from a University spokesperson.