In 1968 the California Memorial Union, as it was then known, was constructed. As the campus population grew, so did the demands on the student union. In 1992, a student approved renovation and expansion was carried out to provide more space for students to gather. The Natali Student Center was born. Dining moved to the Student Center from Gallagher Hall in 1999 making another expansion necessary-this time to construct the all-you-care-to-eat dining facility better known as the Gold Rush. Enrollment reached an all-time high in 2010, and if you walked into the Student Center between 10am and 1pm you could tell.

Lines for coffee and sandwiches stretched out the door and down the stairs, the food court was a sea of people; and lounge spaces, computer labs and meeting spaces all were filled. Recognizing the need for facilities expansion and renovations, the university sought proposals and selected an architect to evaluate and develop concepts for improvements. As part of the process, Student Center staff conducted a survey in 2010 to find out what improvements were in most demand. Based on 1,423 responses, the seven most frequent improvement responses were:

• Larger food court (63.5%)
• Larger convenience Store (58.5%)
• More public lounge spaces (50.9 %)
• Coffeehouse (44.8%)
• Quiet lounge space (38.4%)
• Improved Vulcan Theatre (36.0%)
• Sustainable/energy efficient (33.9%)

In addition, the selected architect (WTW) worked with the Advisory Board; conducted meetings with various users, occupants and shareholders to develop the expansion and renovation plans proposed for the Student Centers development.