Facilities Management and Development is engaged in ongoing renovations and construction work throughout campus. These include the replacement of all hot water lines on campus, construction of Student Housing South and construction of a photovoltaic solar farm near Gold Tree Road.
Utilidor Hot Water Replacement Project
The Utilidor Hot Water Replacement Project on South Perimeter Road and several other places on campus began due to decreased efficiency and increased cost caused by leaking hot water pipes.
Workers are replacing all hot water lines on campus. While this causes temporary heat outages, hot water availability and air conditioning systems are not affected because Facilities is making accommodations based on seasonal temperatures, according to Facilities Planning and Capital Projects Interim Director Perry Judd.
“Obviously we don’t need a lot of heat on campus during this time of the year, so air conditioning is more critical,” Judd said. “For how invasive this Utilidor project is, we’ve been pleased that we’ve been able to maintain pathways and access to all the buildings.”
The project is to be completed in Fall 2018 or Winter 2019, according to Judd.
Student Housing South and solar farm construction
Last summer, construction on Student Housing South at the Grand Avenue entrance continued and is expected to be complete by Fall 2018. Toward the end of summer, workers began construction on Vista Grande Dining Complex which is slated to open March 2019, according to Judd.
“We are always monitoring what the activities are because [the] campus continues on through the course of the year. We need to find ways to make things still accessible and that activities can still continue,” Judd said.
Facilities also began constructing a photovoltaic solar farm near Gold Tree Road by the California Men’s Colony. The project will supply around 20 percent of campus’s electrical needs. According to Judd, the solar farm is expected be completed by Christmas or Jan. 1, 2018.