Los Angeles Community College District Awards $77 Million Construction Contract to Revitalize Downtown College Campus

Construction contract will bring new five-story 'green' technology classroom and student services buildings to Los Angeles Trade-Technical College

April 18, 2007 (LOS ANGELES) The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) has announced that its Board of Trustees approved a $77,820,000 contract to make a major addition to Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, located in downtown L.A.  The contract will provide for the construction of the South Campus project at Trade-Tech, and is the largest and most significant project under the LACCD’s $2.2 billion Proposition A/AA Bond Construction Program. 

"These two new buildings are among the most important examples of how the $2.2 billion construction program is breathing new life into our L.A. Community Colleges," said Georgia Mercer, president of the LACCD Board of Trustees,   "Thanks to the foresight of Los Angeles voters, who approved the bonds for these programs, we will have updated facilities with modern equipment and capabilities for our students, faculty, and the next generation."

The project will feature two new five-story buildings that will dramatically reshape and improve the landscape of the campus.  Following the District’s leadership in building green, both new buildings will be built to the high standards of the US Green Building Council's LEEDTM (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) criteria.  Additionally, the buildings will meet the more stringent “Silver” rating.

The two buildings include a 56,302 sq. ft. Student Services building and 66,228 sq. ft. Technology Classroom building.  Both will contain "SMART" classrooms–rooms outfitted with IT and audio-visual infrastructure for teaching capabilities.  A 1,800 sq. ft. Masonry Utility Building is also included as part of the new construction project.

As part of the 'green' design, both buildings will:  optimize energy performance; use low-emitting materials for healthy indoor air quality; include water efficient landscaping to decrease irrigation dependence by 50 percent; reduce occupancy water consumption by 20 percent; utilize renewable energy sources to provide power; recycle construction waste from the project site; and use construction materials manufactured locally.

This contract is the result of formal competitive bidding, and will be funded by the LACCD's Proposition A/AA Bond program, two bond measures overwhelmingly approved by Los Angeles voters in 2001 and 2003.

A formal groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the project is being planned for late June of this year.

The Colleges’ Board of Trustees authorized the construction contract with Taisei Construction Corporation, a business based in Cypress, Calif., on March 21.  Taisei will provide general construction services for site grading, and construction of two five-story steel framed buildings and related structural, civil, electrical, mechanical, plumbing and security system installation.  MDA Johnson Favaro / Gruen Associates, a local architecture firm based in Culver City, Calif. designed the new structures. Project completion is expected in December 2009.

The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) is one of the largest community college districts in the country, educating more than 188,000 students each year.  The LACCD has embarked on a $2.2 billion construction and modernization program at its nine colleges, as funded by the Proposition A/AA Bond construction program.  The LACCD is also currently undertaking the largest public sector sustainable building effort in the United States, which has been recognized by numerous organizations, including the U.S. Green Building Council, California Climate Registry, Global Green USA, and Flex Your Power.  For more information, visit www.PropositionA.org.

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ABOVE: Architect's rendering of the new South Campus buildings at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.