Crews to break ground on GCC campus

Construction crews are slated to break ground in the fall on what will become Glendale Community College’s largest building.

The 90,000-square-foot, three-story structure, to built near the parking garage, will house classrooms and computer labs, as well as the culinary arts, anthropology and writing labs.

College trustees last week agreed to hire Altadena-based general contractor Mallcraft, Inc. for the $34.6 million contract, but are still waiting for final approval from state college officials. That step, however, is generally seen as procedural.

In addition to the project contract, college officials said they anticipate having to spend approximately $5 million more for changes in the cost of materials, required inspections and construction oversight. This would bring the total cost to almost $40 million.

The majority of the building’s cost will be paid for with state construction bonds, said Ron Nakasone, executive vice president of administrative services.

The college has about $38.5 million in state construction bond funds available for the project, but Nakasone said the college may need to pitch in about $1 million more in Measure G bond funds — a smaller dollar amount than officials previously predicted they would pay to cover remaining costs.

“We’re just a little over [budget] what our state appropriation is,” Nakasone said.

The new building will be about 18,000 square feet bigger than the four-story, 71,800 square-foot library — currently the college’s largest structure.

Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and become available for student use by late 2015, said Nelson Oliveira, director of facilities for the college.

Crews will demolish the Los Robles building to make way for the new structure, and temporarily place the culinary arts program housed there in the campus food court during construction.

The new building will become the second at the Glendale campus to gain a LEED silver rating, Oliveira said. The health-and-science structure was the first.

LEED-rated buildings are certified by the U.S. Green Building Council for having sustainable, energy-efficient qualities.

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Follow Kelly Corrigan on Twitter: @kellymcorrigan.

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