OCC all fired up for new buildings

Deirdre Newman

When Gene Farrell agreed to become the interim president of Orange

Coast College this fall, he didn’t realize he would preside during

the passage of a historic bond measure.

On Tuesday, the Coast Community College District’s $370-million

bond passed with 65% of the vote. The bond will fund facility

improvements over 20 years at all three schools -- Orange Coast,

Golden West and Coastline. OCC will receive the largest portion of

the bond -- $200 million.

“I thought, doggone it, I was just glad I was here at OCC during

the time it passed because it will have such an incredible impact on

the future of the place,” Farrell said. “I would have hated to miss

it.”

Orange Coast College also scored in the election with the passage

of Proposition 47, the state public facilities bond act, which got

59% of the vote. Proposition 47 bonds will fund the vast majority of

the school’s new library, Ferrell said. Money from the college

district’s bond will fund the rest.

The new library -- the school’s priority -- will be about 50%

larger than the old library, which is no longer used, and will be

situated between the Lewis Science Center and the new Arts Center.

The plans and working drawings will be completed this year, with

construction slated to begin next year, Ferrell said.

The old library will be renovated and seismically retrofitted to

be used as a “surge space” to accommodate students and faculty who

are displaced while their own buildings are being modernized, Farrell

said.

OCC officials will also select an architect to revise the campus

master plan, which needs to be updated with the new projects, Farrell

said.

District board President Walt Howald said he greatly appreciated

the community’s understanding and support of the district’s facility

needs.

“This is a fantastic recognition of both the need and the future

possibilities for educational infrastructure in Orange County,”

Howald said. “This is really a terrific investment by all of us to

make sure that our children, grandchildren and people who want to

change jobs and all kinds of things will now have the physical

opportunities.”

Golden West will receive about $96 million, and Coastline will get

about $66.2 million from the bond. The rest of the district will

receive $8.6 million for other improvements, such as replacing

temporary district buildings with permanent structures.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].