Los Angeles Community College District Awards More Than $35 Million in Construction Contracts for Upgrades at Colleges

Contracts will bring needed construction services to Los Angeles City, Harbor, and Pierce Colleges as part of the $2.2 billion Proposition A/AA Bond program

Dec. 14, 2006 (LOS ANGELES) The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) announced today that its Board of Trustees awarded local businesses $35,155,377 in construction contracts during November 2006 for construction and upgrade projects at Los Angeles City, Harbor, and Pierce Colleges.  Each contract is the result of formal competitive bidding and will be funded by the Proposition A/AA Bond program, the $2.2 billion bond measures overwhelmingly approved by Los Angeles voters in 2001 and 2003.

"These construction projects are helping us move closer to the goal of modernizing all nine Los Angeles Community Colleges to improve access to education, and create the facilities needed to prepare our students," said Sylvia Scott-Hayes, vice president of the LACCD's Board of Trustees.

The Colleges’ Board of Trustees authorized the following construction contracts in November 2006:

Los Angeles City College:  Bernard Bros. Inc., a local business based in San Fernando, Calif., will receive $13,455,000 to provide general construction services for the Child Development Center. This project will provide construction services for a new four-structure complex consisting of one two-Story Building and three one-story buildings covering a total of 25,967 square feet.  PBWS Architects of Pasadena designed the Child Development Center; Harris & Associates, Inc. will oversee construction on the building as college project manager at City College.  This project has also received $4,672,000 in funding from the State Capital Outlay Program.

The Trustees also authorized a contract with C.G. Construction, a small, local and minority-owned business based in Paramount, Calif., to provide general construction services for the Relocation of Other Temporary Spaces in the amount of $29,500.

Built Rite Partitions, a small and local business based in Los Angeles, will receive $10,476 to provide construction services to renovate an existing locker room in the Women's Gym for use by visiting athletic teams.

Los Angeles Harbor College:  Taisei Construction, a general contractor in Cypress, Calif., will receive $21,311,036 to provide construction services for the Technology Instruction Classroom Building project.  The new 60,000 sq. ft. Technology Building will provide space for new classrooms, drafting and engineering labs, faculty offices, and will house the college's Architecture, Engineering, Business and Administration of Justice programs.  The structure will meet LEED™ (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards, a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The new Technology Building at Harbor College has also received $6,560,000 in funding from the State Capital Outlay Program in addition to proceeds from the Proposition A/AA Bond program.

Pierce College:  CAL-PAC Engineering Co., a small and local business in Los Angeles, will receive $119,499 to provide HAZMAT abatement and general construction services for the college's Library–Interim phase I project.   CAL-PAC Engineering's services will provide for the removal and replacement of carpet on the Library's second floor, and installation of 375 new chairs.

Grounds Control Inc., a landscape design firm located in Santa Clarita, Calif., will receive $229,866 to provide general construction services for the Roadways, Walkways, Grounds, and Parking Lots for the Botanical Garden, phase II project.  The Botanical Garden's second phase will include an array of Mediterranean plants, including Australian and South African-native shrubs. It will also include many Southern California native plants, making it a sustainable garden that is drought-resistant.

The Los Angeles Community College District is one of the largest community college districts in the country and has embarked on a $2.2 billion construction and modernization program at its nine colleges.  The LACCD has contracted 85 percent of the construction program's work to local and small businesses.  Companies interested in participating in this $2.2 billion renovation and modernization program are encouraged to contact Donetta Pickett at DPickettAssoc@aol.com, and to visit www.PropositionA.org and click on “Doing Business with Us.”

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