Campus construction continues

Walking across campus there are many new and improved buildings and features that students enjoy, but there are also a number of construction sites with buildings waiting to be worked on.

Construction projects are not new to the campus with some beginning design as early as 2001, according to the July 2013 Los Angeles Community College District Building Program Monthly Progress Report.

There are a total of 48 projects at Pierce College that are part of the LACCD Building Program. Half of the projects have been completed, 12 are in construction, one in design, three in planning and eight in moratorium.

More than $405.6 million, approximately 62 percent of the overall campus construction budget, has already been spent on the projects according to the report.

Currently there are seven buildings north of the Mall under construction, according to the Pierce College map, none of which are physically being constructed at this point because robertslegal.com.au are having to look at the construction contract. If you are thinking about starting a construction project, then you might be interested in checking out something like this commercial construction management company to help you out, and make sure that everything runs smoothly.

“As of the moment, construction on campus appears to be somewhat at a standstill,” Lyn Clark, chair of the Computer Applications and Office Technologies department, said in an email.

Clark went on in the same email to say that Ed Cadena, the project deputy director for Swinerton Management Team, would be giving a report on construction during the next Pierce College Council meeting on Oct. 24.

The projects are not currently being constructed because a new contractor is needed to complete the projects.

“When I started here I saw the construction,” said Ingrid Martinez, a 20-year-old student in her third year at Pierce who works at the information desk in the Student Services building. “I was hoping it would be done by now. That really sucks.”

Samuel Brown, a 23-year-old first year student, also recalls the construction being on campus since he began taking classes at Pierce, and wants to see it completed.

“If it’s construction then there should be people doing construction, the idea of just fencing off things doesn’t seem that logical, but then again things are still moving along,” said Brown.

Multiple bids have been received for the North of the Mall construction projects and, during the most recent PCC meeting held on Aug. 15, Cadena requested the council “select and contract a contractor,” according to the PCC’s meeting minutes.

Cadena was asked for comments regarding the status of construction on campus, but he referred the inquiry to Coby King, a public relations consultant to the college bond program, as well as Glenn Gritzner, managing director at Mercury Public Affairs. King declined to comment and Gritzner was unreachable.

While these construction sites sit untouched, the Performing Arts Center construction is underway and should be expected to open in Spring 2014, according to the Pierce College map.

Some of the completed projects include the Library Learning Crossroads Building, the Mall, and the Center for the Sciences. Martinez has attended class in the Center for the Sciences and said the center is very convenient for students.

“It has affected me in a really good way,” Martinez said. “I know where my classes are supposed to be.”

The library is also being utilized by students who “think the new library is great,” said Brown. “It’s beautiful.”