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October 7, 1996

Other construction planned for 1996-97

Construction crews made good use of the summer months to push ahead on UCSC's building projects. Several projects--providing additional performing arts facilities, disabled access, seismic safety, and new pathways and bike lanes--will be finished before the next quarter begins. The following is a list of the major projects planned or under way this year:

Music Center: The first phase of the $12.4 million music facility near the Student Center is nearly complete, says senior architect David Tanza of Physical Planning and Construction. Construction crews are continuing with interior finish work, including the installation of acoustical wall panels, finished ceilings, and painting. The final components of the mechanical and electrical systems are also being installed. The UCSC community will begin using the facility in winter quarter, and an opening celebration is planned for late spring, in conjunction with Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood's investiture.

In a related project, summer work crews built a new pedestrian path linking College Eight with the Performing Arts Center.

Hagar Drive lanes and path: Work is nearly finished on the installation of bicycle lanes and a pedestrian path next to Hagar Drive and a bus pullout area across from the East Remote Lot. As a final step in the project, workers will reseed the area in November with a grass-seed mixture.

Natural Sciences 2 seismic repairs: Crews are doing final painting and finishing work at Natural Sciences 2, which is being retrofitted for seismic safety, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other improvements, says architect Sara Kane. In late November, the Santa Cruz Institute for Particle Physics will return to the building, says Rich McMillan, facilities coordinator for the Division of Natural Sciences. Other occupants are expected to move in later this year. (Upper-division physics and chemistry teaching laboratories had remained in the building during construction.)

Between Natural Sciences 2 and the Science Library, crews are installing a plaza serving as both fire lane and a wheelchair-accessible path, and two new wheelchair-accessible parking spaces, Kane says. Another wheelchair-accessible parking space near the loading dock is being improved.

Oiled Wildlife Veterinary Care and Research Center: Work crews have erected the framing walls of the $5 million facility's two buildings and installed the main seawater lines for what will be its water tanks and animal pools. The project is scheduled for completion next summer, says Steve Davenport, assistant director of the Institute of Marine Sciences. The facility is being built on Long Marine Lab property for the California Department of Fish and Game.

Kresge academic building elevator: Early this month, construction will be complete on an elevator providing disabled access to the second and third floors of the Kresge academic building and Kresge 152, a second-floor conference room, says associate architect Gerardo Amador.

Cowell-Stevenson Computing Laboratory and Mail Center: Construction will start next summer on the $840,000 Cowell-Stevenson project, which will provide a computer lab and mailbox space for students at the two colleges, says senior architect Bret Caton. Design of the project is under way.

--Francine Tyler