Construction of SCC Satellite Site on Schedule
By Sarah Rohrs, Times-Herald staff writer
Vallejo Times Herald
Lester Young, program manager for the construction of the Solano Community College's Vallejo...
The Solano Community College Vallejo satellite campus won't open for another year, but its building is taking shape on a hill overlooking Columbus Parkway.
Construction of the new 40,000-square-foot Vallejo Center is about a third complete, said program manager Lester Young with Kitchell Corporation.
"We're right on budget and right on schedule," Vallejo college board trustee Pam Keith said. "We're doing fine. We're not having to cut back on anything."
To open in early 2008, the Vallejo satellite campus will be five times larger than the current local extension, located one floor below the JFK Library on Santa Clara Street.
Rain will not stop construction, Young said. Contractors are installing dry wall and wrapping the outside of the building with weather-proof material. Once the building is contained, crews can continue working through the entire winter season.
Funds from Measure G, a 2002 voter-approved bond, are paying for the satellite campus.
The Vallejo Center consists of two separate buildings housing 15 classrooms, a large lecture hall, computer lab, learning lab, multi-use room, fine arts facilities, faculty office space, and other programs to meet general educational requirements.
Construction crews are scrambling over the grounds of the 10-acre parcel on Columbus Parkway where the school is being built.
Inside the new walls, hallways flanked with classrooms are starting to take form. The lecture hall and multi-purpose room are filled with piles of shiny heating and air-conditioning units that will soon be installed.
Ralph Larson & Sons were selected as the main contractor on the project after submitting a $13.1 million bid, about $1 million more than the original construction estimates.
As the new campus is built, many locals are recalling the college's 1945 start in Vallejo. First named Vallejo Junior College, the main campus relocated to Fairfield in 1971.
Keith said she expects the new campus to become a community asset with its outdoor amphitheater, lecture hall, areas for art shows, and spots for people to take walks.
"There's going to be many amenities, which will be great for Vallejo," she said.
E-mail Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@thnews-net.com or call 553-6832.
