The Horticulture Building project was recommended to be prioritized second after the Auto Tech Expansion at a Pierce College Council meeting on Thursday.
As of now the horticulture program is scattered throughout the campus and has no classrooms designed for horticulture education.
Originally the project was supposed to start construction in the spring but the contractor who won the bidding was having conflicts carrying through the designs under budget according to Carol Kozeracki, the Dean of Research, Planning,and Enrolment Management.
The project was then halted due to the budget issues and now there are 3 options for the horticulture department if they have the funding to go ahead.
The current bidder can bring in the current designs under budget or one of the other original bidders can bring in the current design under budget or back to square one with a new design according to Kozeracki.
“As of right now you have a broken down greehouse and 2 of 3 building you simply can’t use” says Kozeracki.
The current design for the Horticulture department includes one existing building, two new classroom buildings with lecture space and computer and design lab, 2 greenhouses, a nursery area, student planting gardens and an outdoor lecture area.
“There are very few program’s of this type in the southern California area” says Kozeracki.