In 2011, the City College campus will be experiencing some significant growing pains.

“This is going the be really the year of construction disruption,” President Terrence Burgess told attendees at a January 19 question-and-answer session about projects on campus.

Construction teams are building a new central plant, which will heat and cool campus buildings, and are doing major work on campus telecommunications systems, storm drains and sewers. Work also has started on new Arts & Humanities, Business Technology, and Math & Social Sciences buildings, which are slated to be finished in 2013.

Members of the City College community should prepare themselves for construction-related inconvenience. A mass email sent by the District on January 24 said “be sure to allow extra time to park and get to class.”

Campus Project Manager Tom Fine said City College faculty and staff members have lost about 100 parking spaces since the end of last semester, while the number of parking spots for students has stayed about the same.

Since last semester, most of the parking lot west of 16th Street between B Street and Russ Boulevard has been closed. A small portion will remain open to provide parking spots for the disabled and to allow delivery vehicles to access campus.

Street lights surrounding the lot on 16th and on Russ were not functioning on Monday, January 24, the first night of classes. According to Jerry Davis, vice president of Administrative Services, the lights are the responsibility of the city of San Diego, and construction managers have asked the city to inspect the lights.

Davis also said the construction team expects to activate lighting within the T Building parking lot by the end of the first week of classes. In the meantime, people on campus should be extra cautious in poorly lighted areas.

“Bring a flashlight or call Campus Police to be escorted,” suggested Kim Palek, a staffer in the Disability Support Programs and Services department.

Fine noted that the loss of heating in the M Building during the first week of classes was not construction-related but was due to a leaky water line that the District’s maintenance team would be repairing.

The District posts construction information in the Building Updates section of the City College website.

Fine said anyone with questions or concerns about construction “can notify their professors, deans or any City College administrators, or they can call or email me directly.” His email address is [email protected].