Jon Wilcox
The Broadside
The sounds of heavy equipment being operated on College Way are proof that Central Oregon Community College is undergoing some remodeling. Two construction projects have been approved and should be completed sometime in 2011.
On July 6th, COCC’s Board of Directors approved a remodeling of the Mazama Gym and a brand new Culinary Center. The two projects are expected to cost approximately $7.4 million. The Mazama remodel will add classrooms, offices, easier front access for people with disabilities, and an elevator to the gym. The Culinary Center will now have its own building and will house a restaurant run by culinary students.
The Mazama remodel, totaling 9,420 square feet, has already begun and is expected to be completed by December 2010, and will be ready for classes on January 3, 2011. According to the building permit obtained from the City of Bend, the construction cost of the project is expected to cost $1.7 million. One million of that will come from lottery funding, three hundred thousand from the GoOregon! stimulus fund for the elevator, with the remainder of the funding coming from the 2009 voter-approved bond measure.
“It [the Remodel] will be good,” said Bill Douglass, Director of Club Sports and Intramurals, “because we are so short on classroom space here.”
No classes will be interrupted during the remodel, however the staff parking lot around the Mazama building will be closed. According to Douglass, parking has already been a problem during the last year.
“Parking will be an issue during the winter term,” said Douglass, “more students will mean even less parking.”
The Mazama remodel will also include updating the sprinkler and fire alarm system in the whole building. Two covered parking spaces for people with disabilities and improving the walkway in front of the building will also bring Mazama into compliance with the American Disability Association.
The bids for both of the construction projects were awarded to HSW Builders, a local construction company.
You may contact Jon Wilcox at [email protected]
