Students will be introduced to two new LEED buildings as Proposition S and N provided over $1.555 Billion in funding for the construction bond program for the San Diego Community College District.
One of the new buildings, The Mesa Commons, will house a new food service café, bookstore, coffee bar, convenience store, as well as a student-run restaurant and roof top garden. It will be the center and focus of the Culinary Arts program for students and faculty.
The Culinary Arts program is original to Mesa College and is also over 50 years old. It has originated in the same building since it was first created. Michael Fitzgerald is a professor and staff member for the Culinary Arts Program. “I am looking forward to a modern classroom, and the ability to present material in an available format. It creates an easier environment to learn and gives students immediate feedback in the classroom,” he says.
Speaking on the new facility that will open next year, he states, “Culinary Arts is a hands-on, project style of learning. The new building will give students greater training and will foster learning. It will also be easier to present students with vital skills that a newer classroom and state of the art facility can provide.” The commons will be a hub for students and shall serve as a quad. Vice President of Administrative Services Rachelle Agatha stated, “Construction is on time…it is very exciting. The new buildings give the campus a real college feel and puts us where we need to be.” Construction is on the back end of completion.
The second building scheduled to open is the Exercise Science Center that will be a part of the Mesa Athletics Department. The contemporary two-story center will have a free weight training room, aerobics studio, spinning room, athletic training room, and a wet lab for student athletes to use to treat injuries. Agatha noted that the Exercise Science Center will include a “multitude of athletic programs for students.” It also includes an office suite that athletic coaches and professors can use in the new center.
As construction comes to a close next fall, students can expect it to open spring of 2016.
