Mission College : Trustees OK Contract to Build Campus

The Los Angeles Community College Board of Trustees on Wednesday approved an $18.8-million contract to construct the first permanent buildings at Mission College, which for 12 years has conducted classes in storefronts and converted warehouses.

The board’s unanimous vote will allow construction of a two-story instruction and administration building, a student center with a library and a campus services building on 22 acres in Sylmar, said Norman Schneider, Los Angeles Community College District spokesman.

The new campus buildings at Eldridge Avenue and Hubbard Street are expected to be finished in about 24 months, college officials said. Construction is expected to begin in the next several days, officials said.

The school, which opened in 1976, has leased storefronts, high school classrooms and hospital auditoriums in San Fernando for most of its temporary classrooms and administration offices.

Construction of the new campus was approved last year after the district received $8.5 million in state funds. Another $12.5 million was earned from the 1985 sale of 80 acres of undeveloped district land in Northridge.

About 4,800 mostly part-time students attend classes at the college, campus officials said. The new facility is expected to serve about 6,000 students, officials said.

The new instructional and administration building will include 20 classrooms and 15 laboratories, as well as faculty and counseling offices. The campus services building will also include a bookstore, a weight room and offices for campus maintenance and student government.

The J.R. Roberts firm will construct the new campus buildings, officials said.