James Hermon / Roundup
The former administration building is the latest building to begin the renovation process.
Once completed, it will be the home of several administrative services and the new president’s suite.
The building, located east of the mall, renovations are just one part of Pierce College’s, North of Mall, phase one, construction project.
Construction is scheduled to be completed in18 months.
The total budget for all the construction projects that have taken place and are currently in progress is $23 million, according to Barbara Anderson, dean of Academic Affairs and task force facilitator of the north of Mall construction.
“The funds for the construction projects have been voted on years ago,” said Anderson. “The school received bonds known as proposition A and proposition AA.
The combination of the funds from both bonds provided the budget to move forward with construction.
Proposition A was approved in 2001 and proposition AA was approved in 2003.
The approval of both bonds allowed the LACCD, Los Angeles Community College District, to allot the necessary funding to Colleges throughout the district for construction.
The budget for the construction is solely for this purpose and the funds cannot be transferred to any other Pierce account.
According to Anderson, the building will be the new home to the Pace program, office of Grants, Honors, Academic Outreach, Compliance, Marketing/Public Relations, Administrative Services and the president’s suite.
Pierce College administration is broken down into two houses according to Anderson.
“Academic administration is one house and student services administration is the other.”
The Student Services Administration is the house that consists of admission and records and counseling services.
They are located in the new Student Services building, which is south of the Student Store.
The Academic Administration will have their new home in the renovated building.
“We want to have better facilities for the future generations,” said Anderson. “It’s going to be cool that students will have a lounge in the Pace and Honors office, we’ve never had anything like this before.”
The process of selecting the purpose and functionality of renovated buildings is a collaborative effort by faculty, staff and administration.
“This process is called shared governance,” said Anderson.
Aside from cosmetic renovations, the administration building will be free of potential health issues.
Prior to the beginning of the renovations, the administration building had problems with asbestos in the floor tiling.
According to Mike Lee, project manager, the building was so old that there were issues with asbestos and lead paint.
“After construction is completed, the building will be free of these health concerns.”
The administration building will also be more accessible for students with disabilities.
“All construction has been planned according to the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA) requirements,” said Anderson.
The administration building will become a smart office building after all renovation is completed.
Ray Farghi, the project engineer said, “the building will undergo a floor to ceiling electrical make over”.
“The project is still in the beginning stages and we are still setting up our trailer, but we are here as early as 6 or 7 a.m. working on the project,” said Farghi.
OFFICES THAT WILL BE IN THE NEW ADMINISTRATION BUILDING:
-PACE PROGRAM
-OFFICE OF GRANTS
-HONORS PROGRAM
-ACADEMIC OUTREACH
-COMPLIANCE
-MARKETING/PUBLIC RELATIONS
-PRESIDENT SUITE
-INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH
-ADMINISTRATIVE SERVERCES