Los Angeles Community College District Awards $33 Million Contract for New Health and Fitness Center at Los Angeles Mission College

More than $1 million in contracts are also awarded for upgrade and modernization projects at Los Angeles Valley College, Los Angeles Mission College, and Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

July 13, 2007 (LOS ANGELES) Moving to meet today’s technological and medical teaching challenges, the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) Board of Trustees has awarded small and local businesses $35,565,910 in construction contracts that includes a new Health and Physical Education Fitness Center building at Los Angeles Mission College, and modernization projects at L.A. Valley, Southwest and Trade-Technical Colleges.  Each contract is the result of formal competitive bidding, and will receive funding from the Proposition A/AA Bond program, the $2.2 billion bond measures approved by Los Angeles voters in 2001 and 2003.

“We're moving ahead, and fast, to dramatically alter the landscape of our Los Angeles Community Colleges,” said Georgia L. Mercer, president of the LACCD Board of Trustees.  "These contracts are beneficial in many ways: we are keeping dollars in the local business community while also modernizing our higher education facilities to meet the educational needs of the 21st Century Los Angeles economy."

LACCD’s Board of Trustees recently authorized the following construction contracts:

Los Angeles Mission College:  FTR International, Inc., a business based in Irvine, Calif., was awarded $33,979,000 to construct a new Health and Physical Education Fitness Center building.  The project will provide for new construction and site improvements for a 90,000 sq. ft. Physical Education facility that includes teaching, recreation, and support areas, with some funding from the California State Capital Outlay Program.  This new building will also be built to meet the standards required by the U.S. Green Building Council for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) certification.  Cannon Design's Los Angeles office provided architectural services for the design of the new facility and Gateway Science & Engineering will oversee construction on the building as college project manager at the Mission College campus. 

Los Angeles Valley College: The Trustees approved a contract with Kahromic Contracting, Inc., a small and local business based in Glendale, Calif. for construction services for the Campus Improvements - IT Department project for $1,386,500.  The successful bidder, Kahromic Contracting, has worked on multiple Proposition A/AA projects, and has received more than $8 million in construction contracts from the LACCD since 2004.

A contract was also authorized by the Trustees for construction services for the Field House - Facilities project with Three Pac Construction, a local business, for $48,000.  This project will provide additional services in the phase two modernization of the Track and Field on campus.

Los Angeles Southwest College:  World Wide Construction, a small, local and emerging business, has also received a contract for $68,800 to provide services for the demolition of four existing Child Development buildings on the campus to make way for other modernization projects.

Los Angeles Trade-Technical College:  Airdraulics, a local business based in North Hollywood, Calif., was awarded a contract to provide specialty construction services for the installation of Auto Shop Lifts in Building "F" for $83,610.  The College's Auto Collision and Refinishing Department will benefit from the installation of lifts in its student classroom auto shop on campus.

The Los Angeles Community College District, one of the largest community college districts in the country, has embarked on a $2.2 billion construction and modernization program at its nine colleges.  The LACCD has contracted 86 percent of the construction program's work to date to local, small, emerging or disabled-veteran enterprise businesses.  Companies interested in participating in this $2.2 billion renovation and modernization program are encouraged to visit www.LACCDBuildsGreen.org and click on “Doing Business with Us.”

ABOVE: The new $33 Million Health and Fitness Center at Los Angeles Mission College will be a green building, built to meet LEED® certification standards as defined by the US Green Building Council. To view a fly through animation of the new building, click here.


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