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Sierra College to break ground in May
BY SOUMITRO SEN
Staff Writer, soumitros@theunion.com
» More from Soumitro Sen
2:27 p.m. PT Mar 28, 2008
For local residents long awaiting new construction at the Sierra College Nevada County campus, here’s good news: A ground breaking ceremony will take place at Sierra College in Grass Valley at 3 p.m. May 13, according to President Leo Chavez.
“We are already doing site work up there, removing trees and preparing the ground,” he said. “As soon as the site preparation is done (in May), within 60 days, we’ll see the foundation of the new buildings.”
A classroom building, a two-dimensional arts building and a three-dimensional arts facility will be the first ones to be constructed, Chavez said.
The general classroom building will be about 16,000 square feet and include four computer labs, two dry science labs and six general classrooms, said Dean Neal Allbee of the Nevada County campus. The 5,000-square-foot two-dimensional arts building will have three classrooms for photography, drawing and applied arts and design, while the 3,300-square-foot three-dimensional arts building will have two classrooms for ceramics and sculpture, Allbee said.
The first round of construction will cost about $ 24 million, Allbee said.
The college subsequently plans to build a gymnasium, a health center and a multipurpose center for lectures, presentations and cultural events in the second round of construction expected to start in spring 2009, Allbee said.
The expansion of the Nevada County campus has caused controversy among local residents who want a performing arts center as well as a gymnasium on the Grass Valley campus. But the college faces a shortage of about $5 million caused by the rise in construction prices.
The total costs for the construction and renovation at the Sierra College Nevada County campus was estimated at $44.7 million, Allbee said. The money was raised by a bond measure in 2004 called “Measure G.”
The board is now considering ways to reduce the size of the gymnasium and the health center, Chavez said. A scaling down of facilities could help save money to build the gymnasium, the wellness center as well as the multipurpose center, Chavez added.
To contact Soumitro Sen e-mail ssen@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
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