It’s Moving Day at PCC
By Pasadena Independent
Published: Wednesday, July 8th, 2009
The Campus Center and the Bookstore are being totally re-worked with a modern slant. The Campus Center has been completely transformed from a functionally obsolete building into a very modern facility thanks to Measure P funds. - Photos by Terry Miller
In an update on Measure P, the college has announced that the Industrial Technologies Building has been granted an occupancy permit and that classes began there right after commencement-ceremonies which were held June 19. The building will house most of the Engineering and Technology Division.
Moving into the building are the electrical, electronics, drafting, building construction, automotive, welding and machine shops. Construction of the building has taken place over the past year at a cost of $22 million.
Other buildings ready to go include the Campus Center and the Bookstore. The report from the college says that the old Campus Center has been completely transformed from a functionally obsolete building into a very modern facility that will serve the students, employees and visitors to the campus for “decades to come”.
Another building being readied this summer is the new Bookstore building, adjacent to the Campus Center. Beside the bookstore, this building will be the new home of the Student Business Services office and the Campus Police and Safety Services. These departments are scheduled to move in next month.
The Center will enjoy hundreds of facility improvements. Among them is the new kitchen—which will have modern Culinary Arts instructional spaces—and the ability to provide food and catering needs of the campus. The Center will also be home to the Student Affairs office, a student lounge, student dining room downstairs and an updated Journalism program upstairs which will include a fully-digital lab, a move that finally relegates the old photo darkrooms to history. The Campus Center and Bookstore project worked on a budget of $28 million.
The construction project is far from over. The Music Department’s K Building will be demolished and another will be transformed for temporary use to make room for an expanded and important Center for the Arts. This summer, those people and their classes and services will be moved into the new home during the building of the arts center.
Mark Zacovic, Interim Vice-President of Administrative Services at the campus reports, “Architectural plans for the Center for the Arts are in the process of getting an OK. The plans will go to bid, and groundbreaking will be held in late August.” A ribbon-cutting and ground-breaking ceremony is now scheduled for Friday, August 28 at 7 a.m. The budget for the Center for the Arts has been set at $60 million.
The Center for the Arts will continue the programs of excellence that has been the hallmark of Pasadena City College for eight decades. In the Performing and Communication Arts, departments of music, theater and dance will be installed when the new building is completed in late 2010. The Center will be a 62,000 square foot facility with art studios, practice rooms, laboratories, classrooms, offices and performance spaces. The successful mix of music choirs, bands, orchestras, chamber ensembles, piano, guitar, jazz will be continued in the Music Department as will the Theater Department’s six major productions and smaller one-act plays. Visual Arts painting, printmaking, photography, art history, journalism and the acclaimed Artist-in-Residence program, now in its third decade, will also be included.
To be added at a later date as funding becomes available will be an art gallery, a 220-240 seat recital hall and a black-box theater for experimental productions.
PCC is seeking $3.5 million in philanthropic support to add to previously approved bond funds for these additional facilities to operate within the Center. Preston Howard, a member of the PCC Foundation Board of Directors and managing broker and CEO of Rose City Realty has been named general campaign chair of the Arts capital campaign. Lonnie Schield, a principal of Building Materials Partners, LLC and also a member of the PCC Foundation Board was named vice chair of the campaign.
In announcing the appointments, the President of Pasadena City College, Paulette J. Perfumo, said, “Your support is essential so that our current and new students will benefit from a modern facility that will assist in their learning and showcase their talents for many years to come.” Dr. Perfumo’s Vision 2020 Educational Master Plan is the framework for the continued improvements on the campus.
Other projects that are included in Measure P beyond the construction improvements are upgrades to PCC’s telephone system and computer network updates that are now operational. Still to be completed are two sustainability projects being undertaken in partnership with the City of Pasadena through the Pasadena Water and Power department that involves landscape irrigation systems, an on-campus weather station, and air conditioning systems designed to reduce campus electrical demands.
Enrolling over 30,000 students, Pasadena City College serves a diverse population that mirrors Southern California. The student body consists of 30% Hispanic, 30% Asian, 9% black, 31% white and other.
By Bill Peters
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