Construction and Renovation Updates
April 25, 2011

New Residential Center

The live web cam is up!

Pipes are still being added to route overflow water from the two 10,000 gallon cisterns, the parking lot, and the placita areas to the water collection ponds (marked with pink flags).  This process will likely take another three weeks or so.  NOTE: the ponds are designed to slow the flowing of water into the arroyo, and will likely not retain standing water for more than 24-hours at any given time. 

The building up of the staging area is about 80% complete with some possible changes in its size and designs in the works. 

Excavation for the footings of the buildings will be complete by April 29, and the pouring of concrete into the dirt trenches for those footings should begin in early May. This work will begin at the west end, where the seminar building and dorm A will be (the shapes of these buildings have been staked out).  The footings are 2 to 2 ½ feet wide, providing great support to the 12” CMUs (concrete blocks) that will build up the walls beginning in mid-May.

The Sarcon meeting trailer has temporarily left campus so the black-top in the library parking lot can be removed.  A smaller trailer will come back to that location by the end of April (the Sarcon trailer in front of the lower common room serves as the on-site office).  The rest of the black-top has been removed and crews have dug down two feet, pushing that dirt into the building site as additional fill. The floor level of the top floor of this building will be about level with the road.

Crews hope to begin underground plumbing in the new laundry room during the week of May 2.  This will be located in the garage space at the west end of the project.  In the next few weeks, work will begin on the form and pouring of on a new ramp at the west loading dock near the Student Health Office. Students: please access the SHO through the lowers courtyard during construction!

This LEED Silver residential center will have 45 beds in three buildings, as well as a seminar/tutor office building on the west end. The tentative plan is that the building structures, including walls, glass, and roofs, will be complete and heated by mid-November, at which time crews will move inside to do the interior work.  This plan also provides for rooms to be open for use in summer 2012.

Crews may be on campus before 8:00a, however “beeping” movements and other large equipment noise will not start up until 8:00a. Note that large vehicles will be entering and exiting campus from Camino Cruz Blanca, using the main entry road, and the road to Lowers.

Aerial View of Staging Area

The Betty and Norman Levan Hall

Levan Hall, home of the St. John’s College Graduate Institute is complete.  Staff and tutors are moved in and classes are taking place. 

Levan Hall was planned as a LEED Silver Certified building.  However, it is likely it will reach a Gold level certification!  The official certification will take several months. 

Below are current pictures of the building.

Levan Hall floor plans (Adobe PDF documents):

Lower level
Main level
Top floor

Irrigation Work

Near the entrance to campus, new irrigation pipes have been installed to service the plantings along the road and sidewalk leading to the SAC driveway.  A new automatic watering system is in use on the soccer field, and is working well.

Photos of Summer 2006 Hardscape Renovation and Fishpond Repair:

Fishpond Placita Facing the Bookstore	Upper Placita Outside ESL	Placitas and Pond with Working Waterfall

Click here for past construction updates