Santa Rosa Junior College taps planners for $410M Measure H upgrades
The Sonoma County Junior College District, which includes Santa Rosa Junior College, is moving forward with upgrades included in the $410 million bond passed by voters in 2014.
It will be the largest major facilities and technology improvement plan in the college’s nearly 100-year history, the institution said.
Upgrades will take place on all five campuses in Sonoma County: the main Santa Rosa campus, Southwest Center in Santa Rosa, Petaluma campus, Shone Farm near Forestville and the Public Safety Training Center in Windsor. The bond measure passed in November 2014 with 63 percent approval.
The master-planning contract was awarded to the joint venture team of Gensler, an international architecture, planning, design and consulting firm, and Quattrocchi Kwok Architects, a Santa Rosa-based education industry master planning, design and construction administration firm. Together, they will develop a districtwide facilities master plan.
“We are excited to kick off our ‘2030 Plan for Measure H,’ which includes a major overhaul of campus facilities in order to support our future students’ learning needs, as well as the future employee needs of Sonoma County,” said Frank Chong, Ph.D., SRJC superintendent and president. “Gensler+QKA is a remarkable combination of a locally immersed, education-focused firm and a multi-industry firm that pulls from its worldwide experience. They are working closely with architect and planning professional Leigh Sata, our director of capital projects, who has an extensive background working on California college bond projects.”
More than 200 SRJC employees have volunteered to serve on committees related to the Measure H implementation.
The measure aims to alleviate overcrowding through facilities renovations, and modernizing math, science and laboratory spaces to better train students for fast-growing job sectors. Campuses and classrooms will undergo significant technology upgrades, and will house expanded and new career technical education programs. Funding is also earmarked for updating teaching equipment and tools, and seismically retrofitting.
“Having worked with Santa Rosa Junior College before, and considering our immersion in shaping Sonoma County’s high-profile educational landscape, we feel a close connection to this important and renowned institution,” said Steve Kwok, a principal at QKA and the project’s lead architect. “We have a clear vision for how the master plan and campus design process should unfold.”
Gensler+QKA is currently conducting a full condition and needs assessment of buildings and building systems. The second phase will include an analysis of demographic and education trends within the county, and future needs for academic programs. The master plan will include architectural and landscape blueprints, technology systems design and the creation of a building program for each campus.
