The western portion of Claremont McKenna College’s campus has been riddled with large cranes, chain-link fences, construction workers and loud noises for approximately a year.
The product of this construction will be CMC’s new Kravis Center, an administrative facility named after CMC Trustee Henry R. Kravis.
The building will take up approximately 133,000 square feet and will include an estimated 55 new parking spaces and 56 independent faculty offices, as well as classrooms, seminar rooms, and outdoor courtyards.
Apart from the academic benefits the building will offer, the Kravis Center will also change the face of the college. Rafael Violy-Menendez, who leads the construction team, said he and the CMC administrators want the Kravis Center to “serve as the western gateway to the campus” and remain a signature image of CMC for years to come.
So far, the construction workers have completed the mass excavation and have bolstered the foundations of structures adjacent to the site. They have also installed a tower crane to alleviate street interruptions. Currently, the workers are establishing the foundatiobvn of the building, constructing the lower level’s concrete perimeter walls and concrete columns, and installing the underground plumbing. In the near future, the workers will waterproof the building and begin deciding on some of the interior finishes and furnishings.
In order to prevent congestion from bikers, CMC has constructed a fenced-in walkway surrounding the area intended for pedestrians only. Some students still bike through, but at reduced speeds, while others take alternate routes to get to their destinations.
Construction is going smoothly but at a much slower pace than Violy-Menendez had initially estimated. The Center is now is estimated to be finished in the spring of 2011, more than a year after its original expected completion date.