Three-year plan will vex students

Later this month, SF State will begin massive construction projects that will take an estimated 36 months, involve $63 million, and disrupt the everyday lives of students who criss-cross the campus to and from classes.

Workers will start construction on the parking structure Dec. 23. But the repair of the parking garage, which will take about one year, is only the first of many projects that will take place in the next three years at SF State.

From changing the way the campus is heated to enclosing the administration building in a steel frame, the project will have tangible affects on everyone who either works or goes to school on campus.

"Over the next 36 months we're going to be doing a lot of construction on campus and over that period of time it's going to be pretty disrupted," said SF State Vice President Robert Quinn, during a presentation to Golden Gater staff in early November.

Quinn said the time is right for changes.

"This campus was built in 1954 for 4,500 students and when you talk above the infrastructure, heating, lighting etc., nothing really has been done since 1954," he said.

Quinn said after about $750,000 worth of studies and the production of a "powerful" video tape shown to the state legislature documenting the condition of SF State's infrastructure, capital planning came up with the construction project.

The bulk of the money for the project, about $43 million, was signed off by Gov. Pete Wilson over the summer in the budget, but the balance, approximately $20 million, came from SF State students through student fees, according to Stephen Jack, director of capital planning.

The highlights of the plan, according to capital planning, include:

• The parking garage seismic upgrade: This $4.8 million project will enable the parking structure to meet current California State University structural safety standards.

• The central plant and utility infrastructure renewal project: This $20 million project will create a central boiler system just east of the parking structure that will replace the current steam system SF State runs on now. Hot water from the central plant will be piped to nearly all the buildings on campus in more than a mile of piping that will run directly through the campus. The tentative completion date is July 1998.

• The corporation yard and shipping and receiving: The new $6.5 million yard will be located northwest of the parking structure on the practice field. It will house the vice president for capital programs, capital planning, plant operations, shipping and receiving, public safety and mail services. The tentative completion date is July 1998.

• Administration building -- seismic upgrade: The $10.6 million upgrade will bring the building up to current structural safety standards. The building will be encased in a structural steel frame that will be clad in pre-cast concrete panels to match the existing facade. The tentative completion date is July 1997.

• Cesar Chavez Student Center renovation and terrace addition: This $8.3 million project will address safety issues, seismic upgrading, American Disability Act compliance, heating and ventilation upgrades, a new hot water heating system, and an elevator system upgrade. An additional 22,400 square feet at the terrace level will be enclosed. Tentative construction schedule is June 1997 to January 1998.

• This plan also calls for roofs to be replaced on the library, Burk Hall, the psychology, creative arts and science buildings. The roof work will cost about $2.6 million and the remainder will be spent on Burk Hall equipment, heating and ventilation upgrades, a new children's center, ADA compliance, asbestos abatement, the resurfacing of five tennis courts and the repair of the running track.

The effect of the construction on students will be heavy, according to Quinn and Robert Hutson, director of plant operations. Hutson said the students will have to deal with limited parking stalls in the parking structure.

One floor, or about 500 stalls out of about 2,100 stalls in the parking structure, will be closed at any one time between now and June, he said. During this time Hutson said a major effort will be made to inform the students of different methods of transportation such as mass transit.

Students will also face inconveniences when using student services previously located in the Administration building. Hutson said the 15-month long construction on the building will force some student services to relocate.

"We're looking into perhaps trying to move some of the student services into the old Humanities building," Hutson said. Quinn said while the services will move, administration offices will likely stay in the building during construction.

However, the most visible construction planned is the digging of trenches that will lead from the central boiler to most of the buildings on campus. Major pathways will be sectioned off to connect the new system.

"This is major trenching for 8 to 10 inch water pipes," Hutson said. "These trenches are not small, they're anywhere from 8 to 12 feet wide. They're obviously going to have an impact on access."

Capital planning estimates finishing construction by the summer of 1998, but most involved acknowledge the need to immediately inform everyone on campus of future inconveniences.

"People are going to want to know what's going on," said Quinn. "We absolutely feel a responsibility to inform everyone (of the construction)."

[ Golden Gater Online December 14, 1995 ]

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