GCC ends Mallcraft contract, citing concerns new building won’t be completed by fall
The parking structure sits above the construction site at Glendale Community College for the lab/college services building on in this July 2014 photo. When crews broke ground on the 90,000-square-foot building in October 2013, it was scheduled to be completed by last November.
The Glendale Community College board of trustees recently terminated the school’s contract with Mallcraft Inc., the Altadena-based general contractor that college officials say has fallen behind in constructing a $40-million building on campus.
When crews broke ground on the 90,000-square-foot building in October 2013, it was scheduled to be completed by last November.
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Soon after construction began, crews drilled 60 feet below ground to build a retaining wall, but unexpectedly discovered an old drainage system and hit groundwater. They were required to pump water out of the site, causing one of the first major delays in the project that cost more than a month’s time.
At first hopeful the workers could make up that time, college officials ultimately pushed back the finish date to February, then late March.
By December 2015, Mallcraft had committed to substantially completing the project by March 31 of this year, said Ron Nakasone, executive vice president of administrative services for the college.
That’s when college officials wondered whether they could complete the project in time.
“When they didn’t make this date, the progress being made was reviewed again and it was questionable whether they were going to be able to complete the project for the fall 2016 semester,” Nakasone said in an email.
Ultimately, in an effort to offer classes in the new building this fall, the board opted to terminate Mallcraft’s contract, he said.
The building is expected to host the college’s culinary arts program, anthropology and writing classes, as well as staff offices.
The vote was unanimous, said Anita Quinonez Gabrielian, president of the Glendale Community College board of trustees, when she reported out of the board’s closed session meeting on April 19.
The construction site at Glendale Community College for the lab/college services building in July 2014. The building has been left 95% complete, with the latest delay tied to verifying the proper installation of the building’s heating and air-conditioning systems.
The building was left 95% complete, with the latest delay tied to verifying the proper installation of the building’s heating and air-conditioning systems.
That process can take up to a month, but it can’t begin until the system first meets all code requirements, Nakasone said.
“This is where the project seemed to be struggling,” he added.
Until the college can agree on a takeover agreement, work on the building cannot resume. However, if the college can reach an agreement soon, Nakasone said officials are hopeful there is still a chance to offer classes in the new building in the fall.
Mallcraft did not return requests to comment.
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Kelly Corrigan, kelly.corrigan@latimes.com
Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
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