Posted: Wednesday, February 19, 2003 12:00 am
Project will add classrooms, space for ceramics
By THERESA HOGUE
Gazette-Times reporter
Cinco de Mayo in Corvallis may ring out not with the sounds of a piñata breaking, but with the sounds of walls collapsing as the Benton Center construction project begins. May 5 is the tentative date set for major work on the Linn-Benton Community College's Benton Center remodel to begin, and will include the removal of a play shed, the 1955 gymnasium and some noncompliant restrooms.
The Benton Center project gained momentum in November 2000 when voters approved a $19.1 million capitol bond that includes a $3 million expansion project at the Benton Center. The project will include additional classrooms, office space, a computer lab and an improved ceramics facility. The Corvallis Planning Commission voted unanimously in October 2002 to approve the center's expansion, despite some controversy over the removal of the gym, which had frequently rented out to community groups.
Penny York, Benton Center director, said work began on smaller projects within the center during winter break, and a request for bids on major construction will go out before March 3. A pre-bid conference has been set for March 11, and bids will be open March 27. She said at that time, a decision will be made whether to complete just the first of the two-phase project or both phases. The second phase would add six additional classrooms. York added that cost was a major factor in deciding whether Phase Two would also be completed.
A groundbreaking ceremony will be held April 2, and major construction will begin the following month. York said the center's summer term will be shortened from eight weeks to five to accommodate the construction. Work will continue through fall, winter and spring terms, which will not be shortened.
"We're expecting to be able to occupy (the new sections) for spring term, 2004," she said.
The project could gain additional dollars if LBCC sells or leases its former Lebanon property. With 7,950 square feet and zoned in the central business district, the Lebanon site is currently listed at $235,000.
"We hope to sell," said Mike Holland, vice president for administration and student services, "but we've instructed the realtor if there was a party interested in leasing, we'd at least talk with them."
Part of the work on the Benton Center will include road construction on Polk Avenue and the relocation of the main entrance. Neighbors and business owners have been updated on construction progress through meetings, and another will be scheduled soon, York said.
The Linn Benton Community College Board of Education will meet in regular session tonight at the Benton Center. The agenda includes an update of the Benton Center remodel project by York and Kevin Nicholson, director of facilities for LBCC.
"I'll be going over the look of the building," York said, which will include elevations and a landscape plan. She said she'll walk the board members and the public through the designs with the help of visual aids.
Tonight's meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Benton Center, 630 N.W. Seventh St.
Theresa Hogue is the higher education reporter for the Gazette-Times. She can be reached by e-mail at theresa.hogue@lee.net or by phone at 758-9526.