Ground Broken for New College Building

Santa Monica College officials broke ground this week on a $30-million science building that will replace a structure seriously damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

For the last three years, science students have gone to lectures and labs in the Science Village, a group of makeshift bungalows.

The quake shook the 1950s-era science building beyond repair; it eventually had to be demolished.

The construction of a permanent science facility signals a new era at the college, one of the campuses hit hardest by the Northridge quake. On Tuesday, about 200 students, faculty and staff gathered to witness the groundbreaking on the site of the old building.

“This new science building will create a rich educational environment for our students,” said college President Piedad Robertson.

The project is being funded by federal and state disaster relief money, state community college funds, and a local voter-approved bond.

The new complex, which is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 1999, will be outfitted with the latest technology, officials said. All rooms will be wired to the Internet and equipped with environmentally sensitive features. Special gardens will be cultivated as teaching spaces. More than 100 staff members from the science department worked with architects to design the facility.