Alecia Foster
NORTHEAST GLENDALE -- After several years of planning and
fund-raising, construction on Glendale Community College's science center
project may finally begin this fall.
The college's Board of Trustees was expected to begin approving bids
for the first phase of the construction and renovation project -- which
will include the gutting of the college's chemistry/math and physics
buildings.
The project -- now about three years in the making -- has really
evolved, said Larry Serot, vice president of administrative services for
the college.
"It started with a grant from NASA -- $2 million to build a
planetarium," Serot said. "It kind of grew from there."
The total cost of the project will be $13.8 million -- reached through
a combination of private donations and state and college funds, he said.
Besides a complete renovation of the chemistry/math and science
buildings, two more buildings -- the Cimmarusti Science Center and the
science annex -- will be constructed, Serot said.
Everything will be state-of-the-art, from the labs to the planetarium,
said Jean Lecuyer, project coordinator and physics professor at the
college.
College officials also will work with NASA and Caltech on various
educational programs, he said.
The college also has joined forces with the Glendale Department of
Water and Power on state-of-the-art energy and renewable energy programs.
"There will be energy-efficient devices all the way through the
buildings," Lecuyer said. Among those features: energy efficient lighting
and solar panels.
Serot anticipates the college will also be working with the local
schools and those in surrounding areas.
Several schools have expressed interest in using the new planetarium,
he said. That's still a few years away from happening, however.
Construction was expected to begin sometime between October and
November and last about two years, Serot said.
While science students will have attend class in the college's other
buildings and in portable classrooms during construction, the student's
parking shouldn't be affected by the work, Lecuyer said.
