December 1, 1999

Physical Sciences Building
On December 15, the cement tilt panels should be rising and it will be exciting to watch.  While there has been some lag time on the project, the contractor feels that some of the lost time can be made up.  There has sure been a lot of new activity lately.

Mathematics Addition to Existing SC Building
Progress is finally being made on this structure.  The cement flooring is basically in place and the forms for the perimeter are being put into place.  Over the upcoming weekend, some of the demolition work will begin on the west end of SC in preparation for the 'change out' of the Air Handlers.  That work will begin on Thursday, December 16 and 17th.  Asbestos abatement will occur over the weekend and the remainder of the change out work will occur over the Winter Break.  This is the foundation work for the eventual remodeling of SC for Mathematics.  That work is scheduled to occur over late summer and fall 2000.

Library
The superstructure for GCC's new lamp/beacon of knowledge (what shall we call it?) has gone into place.  The entire roof is being replaced as well.  For a while, it did not seem as though much was happening, but the pace is picking up and, again, we hope we are back on schedule and will meet the projected dates for completion.

Landscaping around 05, HU and LA
At last we are underway with the completion of the landscaping around the new buildings added last year.  Some additional sidewalks have been added and soon trees will be going into place.  We are also adding some outdoor study and gathering areas for students. We might as well capitalize on the wonderful outdoor weather we have during much of the year.

Sewer Repair
As an aging campus, we periodically have problems with sewer pipes put in place over 35 years ago.  Soon the area in front of FA and over to the PAC will be opening and the sewer pipes replaced.  The process may result in the loss of some trees either because the trees are at the end of their life cycle or their roots are an additional cause of the problems we are having.

Athletic Field Changes
Demolition work has begun on the baseball field dugouts.  They will be replaced; the restrooms and concession areas improved and phone service added for emergency purposes.  The stadium press box will also get attention in this effort.  Movement of the softball field is under consideration too.

Parking and Traffic Flow Project
The college has gone out to bid for a consultant to review our current parking needs and for recommendations to improve the traffic flow on the campus.  The college committee will be reviewing the proposals in the near future and the work with the consultant will occur over the spring.

Parking Lot Work
Over the winter break, the southeast parking lot will receive new stripping.  The southwest lot will be rebuilt in places, and will be resurfaced in others.  The entire lot will be re-stripped.  The employee parking will move to the central rows, and rows for students will be returned on the west side of that lot.  The number of spaces for the ATM will be reduced from 4 to 2.

Greenhouse of Biology
It is scheduled to be put in place over the Winter Break as well.

North of Physical Sciences Construction/Sidewalks
Before spring semester is underway, there should be new sidewalks in place north of the new construction.  Last fall, many students walked along the fence line in the street, creating a danger for themselves and the drivers on Via Gaucho.  We hope that students will use the new sidewalk this spring.

GCC North/Happy Valley Road
The college went to bid once more, and bids have been accepted.  Within the next week, construction should begin on the site with a scheduled completion of June 2000.  And, within a very short time, we will even have an address for site.   I had no idea that getting an address could be such a challenge.  Since this is raw land, we also need to notify specific agencies about our plans to move/remove some of the desert landscaping on the site.  It is nice to see that there are agencies watching and protecting our fragile desert.

GCC will have 7 classrooms and an administration building that we will share with our partners, the Deer Valley Unified School district.  Soon, they will be out to bid on the refurbishing of some of their relocatable structures to match our new relocatables.  They will move approximately 10,000 square feet of buildings onto the site to serve students in the 11th and 12th grades.  It will be an exciting endeavor.

Student Services/Fine Arts Buildings Remodeling Project
The college committee finished screening for an architect and one has been recommended to the Governing Board.  Assuming their support for the recommendation, planning and design work will begin in January.  After a great deal of hard work by the various planning teams, we will soon be underway with serious design work.  Our goal with the Student Services areas is to create a one-stop shop for our new and continuing students.
 
 
 

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September 27, 1999

Physical Sciences Building

The walls are rising on the Applied Sciences wing of the new Physical Sciences Building.  It is exciting to behold!  The project is making good progress and we are still looking at a late spring/early summer completion date.

As mentioned earlier, this structure received both a statewide and a western regional states award at a recent meeting of the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Architects.  The building won in the "unbuilt" category, so we should be very competitive next year in the "built" category.  GCC will receive a copy of the award as the "owner" of the building.  Richard and Bauer, our architects, were the lead award recipients.  The district's Facilities Planning Department, by the way, received the "Client of the Year Award" from the AIA and were nominated by 12 separate architectural firms.

Addition to the SC Building for Mathematics
Although it may appear to be behind schedule, the addition is really on schedule.  There just wasn't too much planned for these first few months.  It too is still scheduled for completion late spring/early summer.  Between December 17 and January 12, the air handlers will be changed out in the main SC Building.  This work is being done in advance of the entire SC remodeling that is scheduled to occur over the summer and throughout the fall semester 2000.

Athletic Facilities/Major Maintenance Work
The contract for work on our softball/baseball field dugouts, the stadium and the press box has been awarded.  The timeline for the work is being finalized.

Gym Floor - This work has been completed and it is beautiful!

Greenhouse for Biology
The greenhouse has arrived and college staff is now waiting for the ground to dry west of the Nursing building and north of the T building.  This greenhouse will replace the one that was destroyed as part of the demolition work between SC and LS.

Library Media Center
The demolition work continues on the Library with much still to be hauled away.  The sandblasting has been completed.  Work has begun on the plumbing, but the existing 35+ year old lines have many trouble spots.  Some additional issues have surfaced with the library roof.  We have learned that there are 3 roofs on the structure and there are several very bad spots that will call for serious repair.  The pigeons have left acid damage, almost like acid rain, so please, don't feed the pigeons.  We fear for some of our other roofs as well!

Parking Lot North
The lights are now hooked to the grid and our back-up generators have gone away.  The project has been completed.
We know that many are concerned about the number of spaces and the need for more of them.  We have received a new price for slots, should the college decide to seek funding for additional parking.  The current price is $650 per stall and that figure does not include surveying, preliminary site work, testing, and contingency.  We will continue to seek funds for additional spaces.

Replacement of Sewer Line
Work on a new Sewer Line serving the Performing Arts Center will begin soon.  This will call for ground to be disturbed south of the PAC and the Fine Arts Building.  Everyone needs to be very careful around these construction sites.

Educational Specifications Filed/Student Services Remodeling Project & Fine Arts Remodeling Project'
The documents have been submitted to district and the initial conceptual approval from the various district committees and the district Governing Board is being sought.  After those approvals have been received, the project can go out to bid for an architectural firm.  We hope to have the firm selected in December so that the design work can begin in January.

"GCC North"/Northwest Education Center
During October, we will advertise for bids on the site work and on the construction of the modular structures.  We have a target to issue the Notice to Proceed in December, with Substantial Completion in early June.  This schedule would allow the college to move in in June, perhaps have a small Summer II, 5 week session to test out the classrooms, and provide full services for the fall semester 2000.

Landscaping along 59th Avenue
The City of Glendale has set a marvelous standard for the rest of the campus perimeter.  Special thanks go to Councilman Tom Eggleston for helping to make this addition to our campus possible.

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August 30, 1999

Northwest Education Center:

The bids were opened and unfortunately the lowest bid was higher than the dollars available for the project. We are back at the drawing board, have made some changes that we hope will be for the better, and will go out to bid once more. However, we lose the opportunity of being on the site during the spring semester. Our present schedule calls for us to do the design over the next 6 weeks, go out to bid again, award the bid by the end of November and begin work on the site in December. We would then hope to occupy the site in June 2000.

Parking:

The new lot in the north was ready and open for the first day of classes, but it seemed students had difficulty in finding it. We have distributed maps on campus in hopes that people will take advantage of the additional 750 slots that were added in preparation for this semester's enrollment

Library Remodel:

The first meeting of the construction/planning team occurred on August 18. The general contractor is PACE PACIFIC and this is their first project on the campus. During the next few weeks, we will see demolition work in progress. This will be quite noisy and hope that it will be over within a few weeks. Exterior bricks from the planters will be removed and saved; some plants will be moved; others will be removed to provide space for the future exterior work. If you had a chance to see the model of the finished library, you saw that the entries shift from the south to the east and west, and the south entrance becomes a wonderful reading room. Demolition will also begin on the interior as those spaces will be reconfigured as well.
 
 

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August 12, 1999  --

Pardon our dust!

The fall semester will be filled with new construction and remodeling projects that will, undoubtedly, have an impact on our operations.  I am hoping that this web page can you informed on the "whats" and the "whens" of our efforts.

There will be dirt, dust, noise, interruptions, power shortages, water line breakage, etc.  I say "will" as we need to prepared for the worst and celebrate when all goes well!  As we learned over the summer months, "Murphy's Law" is alive and well and functional on the GCC campus.  To keep our sanity over the next 18-24 months, we will need to roll with it and not let the disruptions disrupt us.

Here is a quick run-down on the projects that are underway as the semester begins:
 
 

PARKING:
Replacement for the parking that was lost to the new Physical Sciences Building has been replaced with spaces north of the new construction.  In addition, Deb Palok from College Safety notes that this upcoming weekend, 8/14 and 8/15 Salt River Striping will be on the campus.  An additional row of "Employee Parking" will be added in the Northwest parking lot and two additional rows of "Employee Parking" will be added to the Northeast parking lot.  Also, four handicapped spaces will be added in the Northeast lot and five in the Southeast parking lot.  These additional spaces should alleviate some of the parking problems for faculty members once the fall semester begins.

PHYSICAL SCIENCES BUILDING:
This building under construction just north of the Life Sciences (LS) building will be the new home for the Sciences that are now housed in Science (SC).  Construction is running slightly behind schedule because of the recent weather, but we hope to make up that time in the near future. The building has already won a regional American Institute of Architects Award.  Watch this amazing new structure rise over the fall. Target completion:  August 2000

ADDITION TO SC for MATHEMATICS:
West of the Science Building (SC), an addition is underway.  Once the Physical Sciences have moved into their new building, the SC with this new addition will become the home of Mathematics.  The addition will house Mathematics faculty and will be the new home for the "Math Solution."  In the former SC, new classrooms will emerge.  Along the north wall of the building, an exciting outdoor patio is envisioned. This project is running behind as over the summer we hit power lines that we did not know were there and gas lines too.  These are the joys of working on an older campus.  We are hoping to make up some time on this one too. Target completion:  January 2001

LIBRARY REMODELING:
The asbestos abatement work was completed and now the actual remodeling work will begin.  The fencing around the library is schedule to go up on Monday, August 16. The construction trailer will be on the site soon and the interior work will begin thereafter. Exciting changes are envisioned.   Target completion:  July 2000

GCC's NORTHWEST EDUCATION CENTER:
This branch of GCC will soon emerge on Happy Valley Road.  In partnership with the Deer Valley School District, modular structures will be moved onto the site and education will be provided for students in grade 11 and 12 as well as our college level courses for all who are interested.  Deer Valley is moving 10,000+ sq. feet onto the site; GCC is providing all the site work and adding 10,000 sq. ft.  The construction work is out to bid.  Bids will be opened on August 17, 1999, and if we have a good bid, site work could begin within a few weeks.  Target completion:  January 2000

"Refreshing" of Business Building, 01, 02, 03:
Finishing touches are underway for these structures that, over the summer, got new carpet, new paint, new ceiling tiles, some new furniture and some new blinds.  It only took four (4) coats of paint to make it look "fresh!"  Target completion:  August 1999

RELOCATION of Loading Dock for John Deere:
The new parking lot forced the relocation of the loading dock that was used by our business partner, John Deere.  In order to provide for their training needs, a portion of the orchard, south of the fire station, has been cleared and the loading dock will be constructed in that space.  Target completion:  September 1999.

LANDSCAPING along 59th Avenue:
With the support of our Councilman, Tom Eggleston, the City of Glendale is financing the landscaping on the east side of the campus.  Target completion:  September 1999

GYM FLOOR:
The gym is getting a new floor after 30+ years.  The wet weather has also had an impact on this project.  If the humidity is not just right, the installation will fail.  This is the first time we have had an indoor project delay due to rain!  Target completion:  Any day now (weather, permitting)!

Projects in the Hopper:
    - Replacement of floor tiles in Life Sciences
    - Replacement of greenhouse lost to the Math addition
    - Repair of Stadium locker rooms, press box, and softball/baseball dugouts
    - WPE/FC Door replacement per ADA requirement
    - Submission of Educational Specifications for Remodeling of Student Services areas
    - Submission of Educational Specifications for Remodeling of Fine Arts Building
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Page maintained by Joyce Elsner
URL: http://glory.gc.maricopa.edu/adminsvs/t.htm
Last update: Monday, 27-Sep-1999 17:43:16 MST