CSULB is spending roughly $13.6 million on construction this summer around the campus. Around 60 different renovation, construction and installation projects have been in the works since the end of the spring semester.
Many improvements will be noticeable to returning students in the fall, including the new drought-tolerant landscaping, resurfaced parking lots and additions to several classrooms. Rooms in the Fine Arts 2, 3 and 4 buildings and the square classrooms between the Language Arts buildings are being renovated to become “smart classrooms.”
“They’ll be fully renovated, up to date in terms of technology, seating, lighting,” said David Salazar, the associate vice president of Physical Planning and Facilities Management. “They are really going to mirror what we did in LA [Language Arts buildings] 1 through 4.”
Salazar added that there is no shortage of construction projects each summer. Lists for improvements and maintenance are sent in from parking, housing and other campus departments. Nearly all of the construction projects are scheduled finish by the beginning of the fall semester.
Drought-tolerant Landscape
With California in an ever-worsening drought, the school began to replace nearly two acres of landscaping around the campus with plants that require less water. The first phase of the project began in April and is scheduled to be completed this month. The total cost of the landscaping project is $920,000, but the school will also receive rebates from the Long Beach Water Department for the turf that has been removed, Salazar said. The school estimates that the new landscaping will help save 3.5 million gallons of water per year.
Parking Lots
A number of parking lots around campus are getting facelifts. The construction includes resurfacing the asphalt, installing new lighting and replacing the landscaping around the lots. Cost for the repairs is estimated around $3.5 million, and is paid through the school’s parking program. Though Lots 1, 3, 6 and 19 will be getting new surfaces, there are no plans to add any additional parking spots this summer, Salazar said. The school proposed in May adding 100 more employee parking spaces to Lot 7, but those improvements would not begin until summer 2016.
ADA Improvements
Every summer CSULB has a series of projects to bring the school into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. This summer that list includes upgrading the wheelchair ramps at the Los Alamitos dorm, the International House and the fourth floor of the University Student Union. The school will also make improvements to the university pool.
“Every year we allocate a certain amount of money…and we do upgrades throughout the whole campus,” Salazar said. “We have an active ADA improvement program.
Hillside Dorms
CSULB has made many renovations to the dormitories on campus: replacing the roofs, installing elevators, ADA ramps and making other interior renovations. The construction has also extended to the parking lot and sidewalks next to the dorms.
“Every summer we work with housing and there’s sort of a backlog of things that need to be done at the residence halls,” Salazar said. “There’s just a whole gamut of things. Just like if you owned a house, you have to maintain it and work on it.”