Today, California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB)--founded in 1994 as the 21st campus of what is now the 23-campus California State University System (CSU)--occupies approximately 1,300 acres of the former Fort Ord Army base. The initial CSUMB master plan called for a large, sprawling campus footprint. Academic buildings would have been distributed throughout West Campus along two major thoroughfares. The new revised and updated master plan moves buildings closer together to form a crescent facing West to the Pacific Ocean. The revision of the master plan and the experience gained after the significant reuse initiatives to create the campus have culminated in a new orientation for the university, both literally and figuratively. The results are expected to be highly interactive living and learning spaces. Remodeling Army spaces into academic program spaces created a host of challenges for faculty and staff. In general, the university's use of barracks, residential, office, and similar use programs met with success and an alignment with CSU's goals. Early compromises resulted in high costs for both the CSU and CSUMB, but the university has become more precise in its planning and in its focus on the pedagogical needs of the organization. The university is poised on the brink of a transformation--the grand experiment of the conversion has helped us show the faculty and staff what is possible.