Children, staff and invited speakers gripped shiny, new red-handled shovels as they dug the blades into a pile of dirt on April 30 by Lot 8, where the new Child Development Academic Facility will one day stand.
The 11,020-square-foot facility will offer indoor and outdoor learning, working and gathering spaces for Pierce College’s Child Development and Early Childhood Education program, according to build-laccd.org. It will also include sustainability features enabling 100 percent electrification and Zero Net Energy.
The project is set to cost a total of approximately $14 million, according to LACCD Board of Trustees documents.
“This project presents an opportunity for our students to learn and work at a really high-tech facility,” LACCD Trustee Nichelle Henderson said. “Right now they’re not working in a stable building and this is an opportunity to learn, grow and teach in their craft at a sustainable structure.”
ASO President Gayane Zazyan said how people can contribute to the success of the project.
“I feel like the faculty have done the most part of how the building should look like and what they want so they can make it comfortable for not only professors, but for students to enjoy it,” Zazyan said. “So I feel like really working close to the department would be helpful to see if they can do anything on their part, like volunteering wise.”
Professor and Chair of Child Development Patricia Doelitzsch said what inspired her to be a part of this project.
“The Child Development department at Pierce never had a permanent building, so when the opportunity arose, I grabbed it and I advocated for us and any committee that was involved with the school,” Doelitzsch said.
Doelitzsch also mentioned how she started working with children.
“I started working with children in junior high, there was a program you can go over to work with children with special needs,” Doelitzsch said. “I worked in high schools, preschools, elementary schools, even worked as an assistant during college, then I worked up my way to being a professor at community college.”
Vice Chancellor and Chief Facilities Executive Rueben Smith mentioned how he got involved in the project.
“This project has been worked on for quite some time,” Smith said. “We never stopped working on the design. I hope to look back in two years and hope this center will be more stabilized and known.”