Walking on Broadway by Seattle Central you can see the massive streetcar project being undertaken but as fall quarter begins, the inside of the school is also undergoing millions of dollars of work.

“There is a lot of activity currently underway and in the planning stages,” said Chuck Davis, Director of Facilities & Plant Operations at SCCC. The biggest changes to the campus are not in the Broadway and Pine corridor however.

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A $22 million project for a state of the art wood construction facility is currently on schedule and “calls for “Substantial Completion” in September,” Davis said. “We are currently working with the City of Seattle to obtain a “Temporary Certificate of Occupancy” that will allow us to use the new facility while the phase two (demolition, sidewalk and parking lot construction) work is being completed.” The wood construction facility on 23rd and South Lane offers courses and certifications in marine body works, carpentry and fine wood making. Funding for the update was approved by state legislature.

Back at the heart of Capitol Hill, SCCC’s core Broadway Edison building is getting fine-tuned and updated. Here is a list of the construction that Davis provided:

• Replacement of the main entry doors at the Mitchell Activity Center
• Replacement of the entrance doors at the South East entry to the Broadway Edison (BE) building.
• Construction of three offices on the first floor south cross-corridor of the BE.
• Construction of a wall to separate instructional spaces in 3138 and 3134 (BE)
• Construction of a wall to provide a storage area for IT services on the 3rd floor BE
• Sidewalk and streetlight repairs

These projects are being funded through grants to the school, and SCCC funds (not associated with operating budget). Estimated prices top more than $5.5 million an expense report says for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.

Other campus updates are drawing directly from the student and activity fund. The student C-Store adjacent to the atrium is currently empty and being constructed into a new “information center.” Lexie Evans, Dean of Student Leadership has said the price tag for the new information center will reach $200,000. The wood floors in the Mitchell Activity Center are also being refinished at a cost of $22k from the student fund.

Meanwhile, the school has also added security patrols to cover the campus morning, noon and night. From a recent email from director of safety and security M. Elman McClain: “In an effort to provide a more thorough safety, security and emergency preparedness program for the College and our community we serve, Seattle Central Community College, Public Safety Department will be implementing a twenty four (24) hour – seven (7) day a week security/safety coverage effective Monday, September 17, 2012.”

CHS recently reported on an effort by SPD to improve safety around the campus and Cal Anderson Park.

There is also a list of construction projects that are currently in the “planning stages” or nearing completion.

• Repair and safety upgrades for the Atrium Fountain.
• Renovation of the central restrooms on first floor of the BE building – this would be a prototype for more global restroom renovations.
• The former Childcare Area will be renovated to accommodate the main offices for the International Education Program.  Schreiber, Starling & Lane Architects are working on the final design elements are being incorporated and we are looking forward to construction sometime this fall.  The project will be advertised for a public bidding.
• The ESCO project is nearing completion – the project has been such a success at reducing energy and other utility costs that we have added some scope to take advantage of further savings.  AMERESCO is the general contractor and has worked with a number of sub-contractors, e.g.  MacDonald Miller
•  Great Floors is currently working to refinish the wood floors in the Mitchell Activity Center, including the gymnasium, the dance floors and the racquetball floors.
• The engineering department has used the summer months to make improvements to some of the major mechanical systems and the custodial department is hard at work scrubbing and waxing floors throughout the facilities.
• The main IT computer lab received a new coat of paint.

As students start replacing their sandals and shorts for sneakers and jeans so will SCCC with its new pair of architectural threads. The hustling and bustling fall quarter brings polished floors, and functioning doors.

The New City Collegian is a student-run publication covering the Seattle Central Community College community.