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The two-year, $18 million construction project — funded by the state through the sale of lease-revenue bonds, a source separate and distinct from the general state appropriations that fund university operations — is on schedule and nearing its halfway point, according to Melody Maffei, interim associate vice president of facilities services.
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Construction is scheduled to be completed in November 2013, with the building opening for classes in Spring 2014. It will house the School of Nursing — consolidating nursing labs currently spread across campus — along with the mathematics department. The renovation includes many changes to the building's layout, including the creation of seven new classrooms and an open computer lab.
In addition to the renovation and the seismic retrofitting the building required, a number of energy-efficiency measures are being implemented. Photovoltaic solar panels will be installed on the roof and are expected to provide energy to meet all needs except for heating, ventilation and air conditioning. And skylights are being added and more windows will be included in the new walls, providing more natural light and reducing energy costs.
There will be some cosmetic changes made to the exterior of the building as well, Maffei said, including new paint on the building's trim and new handrails.
The construction project has provided an economic boost to the area. Local contractors are being used on the project, Maffei said, and it's expected that approximately 200 jobs will have been created on site by the time it's completed.
The Science 1 Building is located on the south side of the CSU Stanislaus campus, adjacent to the Nora and Hashem Naraghi Hall of Science, which houses 110,000 square feet of space and 25 laboratories serving 17 undergraduate and graduate majors in the College of Natural Sciences.