Press release:
The vision and hard work of many people who contributed to Genesee Community College's Facilities Master Plan nearly five years ago is about to take physical shape as the College's Board of Trustees approved the award of various construction bids for two capital construction projects on the Batavia Campus.
The total cost estimate for the new Student Success Center and the Event Center combined is $21,476,070, and when asked when construction will begin, Kevin Hamilton, GCC's vice president of Finance and Operations told the Trustees "tomorrow," reflecting on the aggressive construction schedule ahead.
In actuality, the College has scheduled an official Groundbreaking Ceremony on Thursday, April 28 at 4 p.m. but JMZ Architects and Planners, P.C., and GCC staff are already working with the contractors to ensure a smooth running project. The following construction contracts were approved on Monday night by the Board of Trustees:
For both the Student Success Center and Event Center combined:
• Allied Builders, Inc., Brockport -- General Construction $10,627,000;
• DiFiore Construction, Inc., Rochester -- Site Improvements $ 2,322,100;
• Thurston Dudek, LLC, Ontario, NY -- Plumbing & Fire Protection $ 955,400.
For the Student Success Center only:
• Leo J. Roth Corporation, Webster -- HVAC Construction $ 550,000;
• Hewett Young Electric, LLC, Rochester -- Electrical $ 540,000;
For the Event Center only:
• Landry Mechanical Contractors, Caledonia -- HVAC Construction $1,337,884;
• Suburban Electric of Albion, Inc., Albion -- Electrical $ 1,318,000.
In order to attract as many local firms as possible, the construction bid packages were bundled in five segments for Site Work, General Contracting, Electrical, Plumbing/Fire Protection, and Heating, Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC), and contractors were invited to bid on singular projects or combination of both projects. Forty-seven bids were received and publicly opened on March 8.
The 18,478-square-foot Student Success Center will be a two-story facility connecting to the existing Conable Technology Building through a second-story bridge. It will become the new "front door" of the Batavia Campus partially enclosing the College's central academic quad. The one-stop service center for students and community residents will soon provide admissions, financial aid, academic advisement, job and career counseling and a variety of other services in one building. The estimated cost of construction of the Student Success Center is $6,687,645.
The other project, the Event Center, will also be two stories, but it is the first facility on the original Batavia Campus grounds not connected to the Batavia Campus main buildings. (The College's School of Nursing is located in the Med Tech Park on the south side of Hawley Drive.) Located adjacent to the Soccer and Lacrosse Turf Field at the far west side of campus, the 56,614-square-foot facility will include the largest open public space in Genesee, Livingston, Orleans and Wyoming counties. The large arena will not only accommodate an array of athletic competitions, but all kinds of civic, community, trade, industry as well as college events --from farm, boat and tractor shows to commencement ceremonies where a whole family can sit together. The new facility is expected to draw as many as 500,000 visitors to the campus each year. The estimated cost of construction of the Event Center is $14,788,425.
The targeted construction schedule for both projects is this April 1 through June 1, 2017. Transforming the vacated space in the existing facility into new classrooms, laboratories and office space will be reviewed through the coming year and a separate plan and project(s) will be developed.
