Project Status Report – May 21, 2002

We have a number of projects underway on campus.  The following is the status of these projects and their expected completion dates:

This new building is the first state-funded facility to be constructed at California State University, Dominguez Hills since the late 1970s.  It is a four-story building with approximately 115,000 assignable square feet that will house the School of Health, Student Services, the Computer Center, and Administration.  The project also includes classroom space to serve over 1,000 full time equivalent students. The building is currently at 80% completion.  Welch Hall will greatly relieve our significant space issues on campus.  We have a website that provides information about Welch Hall as well as construction progress pictures.  http://www.csudh.edu/admfin/FP/ITphotos.htm.

With an expected opening of the venue in June 2003, the construction will continue to move at a very fast pace.  The parking lot expansion to the north of parking lot 6 is completed.  This new parking lot expansion will be part of the campus parking inventory in place of parking lot 7.  There is now an entrance to parking lot 6 on the northeast side.  At this time you have to go through parking lot 3 to enter in on the north end of parking lot 6.  Once Welch Hall is completed, the northeast access to lot 6 will be directly from the Tamcliff entrance to the campus.  The south entrance to parking lot 6 will be closed from May 27 – June 30 to put in a new access road.  Lot 6 will be closed for 3-4 days around the middle of June for re-striping.

The In-line Skating Rink that was northwest of parking lot 6 is being relocated to an area east of parking lot 4A across from CAMS.  The contractor, PCL, is working out of the former Child Development Center/Infant Toddler Center.  Stan Hebert will serve as the primary contact for questions or concerns related to the construction of this project.  Randy Sharp will serve as Stan's alternate.  Their phone numbers and e-mail addresses are: Stan Hebert (310) 243-3874, shebert@csudh.edu; Randy Sharp (310) 243-2163, rsharp@csudh.edu.  In order to document the construction of this project, a webcam has been installed on the roof of the ERC building.  Additionally, a website has been established for this project at http://www.csudh.edu/admfin/proposal/proposal.htm.

This project will upgrade critical infrastructure components of the telecommunications system that are essential to support changes in instructional technology that will help us meet the need for expanded telecommunications.  The campus telephone switch will be relocated from the ERC basement tunnel to a larger facility on the 1st floor of ERC during Memorial Day weekend, May 24 and 25.  The relocation involves the move of telephone equipment, equipment racks, cables, and the batteries that power our Uninterrupted Power Source (UPS).  During that period, you will not be able to receive calls or make calls from office telephones (phones with 243-XXXX numbers).  Campus emergency phones, pay phones, modem lines, and most FAX lines will continue to work.

We ask for your patience as most offices, classrooms, and labs will be impacted on some level or another (new or upgraded voice and data jacks). The contractor is mobilized in the fenced-in area up on the plateau just east of the new East Academic Complex.  There are Building Captains assigned to facilitate user inquiries.  The Building Captains attend periodic project meetings and make sure occupants are informed when the contractor is coming into their areas.  Most of the new fiber will be installed in the campus tunnel system.  There will be some trenching around the campus in areas not accessible by the campus tunnel system.

Since August 2001, 16 classrooms have been renovated to smart (mediated) classrooms.  The 16 classrooms that have been renovated to date are: SBS A-144, SBS B-109, SBS B-115, SBS B-131, SBS B-215, SBS D-125, SBS F-125, SCC 11-305, NSM B-242, NSM B-252, NSM C-221, LCH A-103, LCH A-219, LCH A-224, LCH A-228, LCH A-324. All of the smart (mediated) classrooms include a ceiling-mounted projector, projection screen, PC, VCR, a pair of wall-mounted speakers and the central control unit (the podium). The PC is connected to our network and to the Internet.  MS Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access) is installed on the PCs.  The VCR plays VHS videotapes, and the PC reads the standard data and music CDs.  All of the features (such as, sound volume, switching from PC to VCR) are controlled on the podium, the central control unit.  In addition, there are data and sound connectors on the podium that are designed for the quick connection of a laptop to the “smart” system.  This allows those professors who prefer to use their own laptops instead of the built-in PC in the podium to present their class materials. Funding is still available for the renovation of 8 to 10 additional classrooms.  The remaining 8 to 10 classroom locations are to be determined by Academic Affairs, and are scheduled for completion by Fall 2002.  Additional information regarding Smart Classrooms are included in the attached report that was submitted to the University Budget Committee in February 2002.

Current emergency telephones placed throughout campus do not meet ADA requirements for accessibility and use.  Additional issues include: difficult operation due to their configuration, inadequate phone coverage throughout campus areas and sub-par performance.  Due to these safety concerns, the campus is replacing existing phones and adding seven new phone locations.  Of the 36 existing phones, 29 are slated for replacement, including new elevator phones.  The remaining locations have been upgraded to the new specification.  Both Public Safety, and the Office of Risk Management/Environmental Health and Occupational Safety selected the seven locations.  There will be some trenching around the campus in areas where electrical conduit and telephone lines are needed for this project,

The purpose of this project is to improve exterior lighting along major walkways, stairwells and open areas campus wide.  There will be some trenching around the campus in areas where electrical conduit is needed.

This project expands the School of Education building by approximately 1,200 square feet.  This space will serve as a classroom and storage area.  The expansion is being built on the old loading dock on the southeast corner of the building.

Upcoming Projects:

This project will renovate the restrooms on all three floors of the NSM building.  There will be times when the restrooms on one of the floors will be closed for the renovation.                    

Due to it’s deteriorating condition, both the Exterior Artwork Committee and the Campus Physical Master Planning Committee voted to recommend the decommissioning and removal of the Falkenstein Sculpture.  This sculpture is the configuration of logs formally known as the Forum that is currently located in the Sculpture Garden west of the first floor level of the Student Union. Both committees requested that the logs be stored near Physical Plant in the event that in the future there is an interest in replicating the sculpture.  The committees also requested that we photograph and video tape the sculpture before dismantling and that we number the logs.  In order to accommodate requests we have received from members of the campus community that are interested in taking pictures of the sculpture before it is dismantled, we are removing the orange fencing that was put up for safety reasons.  Given the deterioration of the logs, the fence was put up because there have been incidents of people climbing on the logs.

The swimming pool will be replastered during June.

As part of the agreement with the developer of the National Sports Training Center, the developer has agreed to provide $550,000 for a permanent replacement facility for the Child Development Center and Infant Toddler Center.

Projects Completed Since March Report:

This project renovates the outside patio areas on the north side of the three-story portion of the NSM building.

This project provides the landscape portion of the newest temporary space project that has been completed east of SBS.

The pool is currently shut down to replace the surge pit and filter system.  This will take about three weeks.  We have tried to avoid shutting the pool down during the semester but have run out of options.  The testing of the water does not reveal any harmful substance; it is just not aesthetically pleasing.

The initial phase of this project installs over 60 new security locks on doors accessing smart classrooms and other high-risk areas.  Additional security locks will be installed as new funding is provided.