By Town Crier Staff Report
Due to the recent discovery of an earthquake fault, Foothill College will rebuild its Campus Center as part of its new master plan approved Oct. 15 by the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board of Trustees.
Foothill officials, who discovered the fault during a soil test in May, reworked the master plan to also include a new campus entry building, housing a studio theater and sciences building. These new facilities will house biology, biotechnology, veterinary technology, drama facilities, ornamental horticulture, student activities, student services and four general-purpose classrooms.
The existing campus center, located directly above the Monta Vista fault, will be torn down and moved closer to the interior of the campus. The vacated area will be turned into an outdoor plaza. A small studio theater on the faultline also will be demolished.
State law specifies that structures must be at least 50 feet away from a faultline.
The new student services and sciences buildings are planned for location between the campus bamboo gardens and the Smithwick Theater. Plans are still on tap to renovate all buildings, classrooms and laboratories, upgrade heating and ventilation systems, and improve water and electrical infrastructures.
The additional work will mean the renovation project, paid for with 1999 Measure E bond funds, will now run a $10 million deficit. The district will try to recoup the money from the state.
“We feel it’s an issue the state needs to fund because of the hardship to the campus,” said Foothill spokesman Kurt Hueg.
The master plan also includes reconfigured campus access roads and added outdoor plaza areas. In addition, the master plan specifies that all Measure E construction and renovation projects will conform to the original award-winning architecture for which Foothill College is internationally renowned, Hueg said.
Officials plan for construction of phase I of the campus center and campus entry building to begin in summer 2003. Plans are still on schedule for overall completion by 2007, Hueg said.
“It’s imperative that we move quickly,” he said. “The more time we waste, the more money we lose.”
