College of the Canyons is busy with construction work on both campuses Tuesday.
At the Canyon Country campus, the walls to the Applied Technology building are scheduled to go up around 8:30 Tuesday morning near the far end of parking lot 2.
The 6,000 square foot building will include four classrooms, a computer lab and instructors offices as well as provide a permanent home for the college’s auto tech program and green construction programs.
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Programs moving to the Applied Tech facility include building inspection, land surveying, construction management and landscape maintenance/management, all with a focus on green technology that is more environmentally-friendly.
It will also allow for the relocation of the auto tech program, which is currently sharing space at Saugus High School. The building will feature eight auto bays, transmission and engine labs, tool and storage areas and will make the school eligible to become an affiliate of the National Automotive Technician Education Foundation.
Later in the day, at the Valencia campus, a groundbreaking for the 51,000 square foot, $16 million library expansion will be held. At 2:30 p.m., shovels will hit the ground to begin the bond-funded construction (40 percent from the Measure M general obligation bond and 60 percent from a statewide bond measure, both passed in 2006) that will include more group study rooms and meeting areas for student collaboration.
It will also add a Special Collections display and storage area for rotating shows of student and community art.
A new Computer Commons area with 100 workstations will more than double the number of computers available to students and community members on campus.
The expansion will also facilitate the move of the college’s Learning Center from Bonelli Hall into the new building and meet the increasing demand for tutoring. In the first 10 weeks of the current semester, the center has provided 35,000 hours of tutoring, compared with 13,000 hours in fall 1990. The number of students has also nearly doubled, with 2,300 in 1990 to 4,500 today.
The library expansion is expected to open in Fall 2012.