Students may need to change their routes to class as construction of the General Academic and Music Building begins to enter its final stages.
“The fence around the construction site has been moved in areas by the Harvin Student Center, the White Library, and the Coles Classroom Building to allow the contractor to begin work on walkways, sidewalks and plaza features that will provide access to the new buildings,” said August Alfonso, vice president of facilities operations.
The sidewalk between the Heldenfels building and the Coles building no longer continues to the White Library. The sidewalk now leads to a dead-end at the construction fence.
There is another dead-end at the sidewalk at the northeast corner of the Fine Arts and Music building. The southwest sidewalk that leads to the Harvin Center no longer exists.
Students can enter the Coles building by all entrances except the corner entrance between the Coles building and the White Library. The Heldenfels building can now only be entered through the doors that face Naples Street. Students can continue to enter the library through the doors that are nearest to the construction site.
The good news is the detours may soon be over.
“At the present time, the construction of the General Academic and Music Building is on schedule to have the facility open for instruction in fall of 2019,” Alfonso said.
The new $46 million facility, part of a $157 million voter-approved bond, will consist of four buildings interconnected by bridges. Building D, the building closest to the Harvin Center, is the closest to being complete. The other three buildings vary in their stages of completion.
Work related to sidewalks, parking areas and the plaza have already begun and are expected to be complete in the next three to four months, Alfonso said.
Heritage Hall, which is expected to be demolished, will stay in use through the completion of the General Academic and Music Building as well as through the renovation of other buildings including the Harvin Center, Heldenfels and the White Library.
Alfonso said because Heritage Hall is on the edge of campus, work to raze the building will not affect student access to other buildings.
Del Mar College President Mark Escamilla said the inconveniences of construction will be worth it in the long run.
“The General Academic and Music Phase 2 building will be unlike anything else in the area,” Escamilla said. “Our students, faculty and staff will have classrooms that they can all be proud of and experience for generations to come.”
If students are concerned about longer walks to class, the Viking Stop Campus Carts are available to transport students around East Campus.
