CSULB continues to build

By Kerry Bromberg, Special to the On-line Forty-Niner

May 12,1998

 

Construction, remodeling projects added

 

As the spring semester comes to an end, construction and remodeling on the Cal State Long Beach campus is nowhere near the end.

 

With the University Student Union's remodeling almost complete, Susan Brown, director of physical planning, said even more construction is planned for the campus in the upcoming years.

 

The master plan for CSULB includes several projects over the next five to six years, pending the passage of a bond proposition on November's state ballot.

 

This bond, still in negotiation stages, will provide nearly $1 billion in total funding to the University of California, California State University and community college systems for improving campus facilities.

 

The first project slated for CSULB is the remodeling of the Fine Arts buildings.

 

This construction was initially scheduled in 1992 and will renovate the buildings, which were built in the mid 1950s.

 

"Our goal is the removal of functionally (obsolete) facilities in the Fine Arts building, bringing them up to current fire and safety standards and Americans With Disabilities Act Requirements," Brown said.

 

Construction of a new science building with new lab facilities is scheduled for the year 2000. The new labs for the biology, biochemistry and chemistry departments will replace the older labs in Peterson halls 2 and 3.

 

It will also house the faculty offices for those departments, eliminating the temporary offices between PH1 and PH2.

 

According to Dr. Robert Loeschen, acting associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the building is necessary.

 

"Updating the labs (currently in PH2 and PH3) was not possible," Loeschen said. "There was no way to renovate the ducting and supply lines in the old labs to accomodate the more hood-intensive classes that we teach."

 

When the new construction is completed, the older classrooms will be remodeled, according to Loeschen.

 

The last major project on the table is construction of a new liberal arts building to replace the older buildings that house some of the 23 different departments within the College of Liberal Arts. This building is still in the planning phase and is scheduled for completion in approximately 2005.

 

"We are still evaluating the needs and recommendations from the faculty," said Richard Outwater, director of facilities planning for the college. "The old buildings can't hack it anymore, so we want to make sure to do it right. We feel that the new building will meet the students' needs better, and we expect a vast majority of support from both students and faculty."

 

Brown said there has been a large amount of coordination and cooperation among all parties involved in the planning of the upcoming projects.

 

"There has been an incredible amount of communication between the departments involved," Brown said. "That, combined with the immeasurable support from both President Maxson and Provost Karl Anatol, has made the formation of this plan work."