Original: February 8, 2011 Issue 10
By: Whitney De Valroger
Staff Writer
Montgomery college students have much to look forward to this year. Besides the inevitable class work and exams this coming semester, a new building is being erected and will open its doors to the student body for the first time this year.
That is just phase one for the plans to renovate all of the science buildings on campus. Along with the new state of the art Science Center are plans to completely renovate the East and West Science buildings.
Once the Science Center is open for business, presumably in the Fall of 2011, all classes will be moved to it from the old buildings, at which time work can begin on the renovations.
“Out with the old and in with the new” is the mentality for construction at the Rockville Campus. An engineering study revealed that, rather than patching up existing frame work on the East and West Science buildings, tearing down and rebuilding them would be more cost effective and energy efficient.
The plan is for crews to be working to completely gut the interior and exterior of the old science buildings over the next couple of years.
Once the old buildings are vacated, asbestos abatement will begin and construction will commence on the interior as well as the exterior.
When everything is complete, the new East and West Science buildings will complement the design features of the new Science Center, both aesthetically and functionally. The goal is to give the appearance of a unified complex.
The new construction projects for the East and West buildings will be funded by a $24 million budget.
The budget will be contributed by the state and county, each providing $12 million. Steps are being taken by the Office of Central Facilities to ensure that this money allotted to the school stays within the budget by meeting with government officials; come July 2011, the money should be in the school budget to commence the new renovations.
Lately, the Montgomery College Rockville campus is looking more like a demolition zone than a functioning school.
From the construction of a brand new building to a road closing meant to accommodate a newly developed dam to the renovation of existing campus structures, the campus is getting a major facelift.
By the end of it all, students will be treated to a new Science Center, a superior facility to further the educational development of current and future students.
Pardon the dust, Montgomery College, for there is a lot to look forward to.