Construction is under way for the San Diego Continuing Education – Cesar Chavez Campus, scheduled for completion in 2015.
Located at the corner of Main Street and Cesar E. Chavez Parkway, the former Chuey’s Restaurant, will be a $50 million project housing 22 classrooms, a multipurpose room, administrative offices and a space for a small business incubator.
“These classes help people get hands-on training and position them well for entering the work force,” said Renessa Ashton, a spokeswoman with the district’s Continuing Education program, in an interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“Often people are waiting for several weeks, sometimes months, before they are able to get into a program, so this is going to immediately eliminate that long wait,” added Ashton.
Eight of the classrooms will be for health-care training, such as nursing assistance and home health aide programs, replacing a single classroom at the Centre City campus that currently provides Allied Health career training.
Classes at the new campus will include vocational training, English as a Second Language, adult basic education, GED preparation classes as well as other programs that are currently held in two San Diego Community College District locations.
The district is also making sure that the surrounding neighborhood is well aware of the changes coming soon.
“Some officials from the SDCCD came in to our cafe one day and gave us some paperwork and told us about the upcoming continuing education classes that the new campus would offer,” said Sam Forlines, a barista at Ryan Bros. Coffeehouse, located kiddy corner from the new construction site.
“More student traffic means more traffic for the coffeehouses and other business located in the Barrio Logan neighborhood,” added Forlines. “So I’m excited for the arrival of the new campus.”
The 68,000-square-foot educational facility, designed by the architectural firm Martinez + Cutri, is designed to emphasize energy efficiency in hopes of receiving a LEED silver certificate.
It will feature drought-tolerant landscaping, high-efficiency irrigation and low-flow and waterless plumbing fixtures. A 149-space underground parking structure will also be built a couple blocks away.
