Prop 1A brings new building

Construction of a new classroom building will begin in the coming months, bringing much needed additional office and academic space to the campus.

Funds for the construction of the Classroom Building II project will come from the recently approved Proposition 1A school construction bond.

The majority of the $9.2 billion bond, the nation's largest ever, would go towards building and renovating K-12 schools. However, $2.5 billion is for the construction of higher education facilities.

Proposition 1A, which was approved on the November 3 ballot, authorizes the state of California to begin selling bonds to pay for school construction.

"Classroom Building II is well past the proposal stage," said Brita Abele, an associate planner with facilities management. It has long been a part of the CSUS Master Plan.

Working drawings for the building were completed over five years ago at a time when campus enrollment was seeing explosive growth. By constructing the new academic building, administrators hoped to ease the need for additional space.

The slow growth of the campus population over the last few years caused Classroom Building II to be put on hold until justification for the new building could be made. Today, however, CSUS is again experiencing growth and is expecting a rapid increase in enrollment over the next five years. To compensate for the expected shortage of lecture space, faculty offices and computer stations, administrators decided to push forward and request funds from Proposition 1A to help pay for construction of the building.

Currently, Mariposa Hall, formerly known as Home Economics, sits on the site between Eureka Hall and the Art building that will eventually house Classroom Building II. In order for construction to begin, Mariposa Hall, a one-story facility providing only 6,126 usable square feet, must be demolished to make room for the new five-story building, which will have 48,522 assignable square feet.

To help ease confusion, the new Classroom Building II will be named Mariposa Hall once it is complete.

The demolition of Mariposa Hall has caused some headaches for Professor Lee Anderson, though. As head of the Program of Design, which is currently headquartered in Mariposa Hall, Anderson is responsible for finding a temporary home for his department while the new building is built.

The Program of Design encompasses not only graphic design, but also interior design and photography. According to Anderson the "current facilities in Mariposa Hall just aren't sufficient for our needs."

The lack of space is so poor, in fact, that the Program of Design has classes meeting in five separate buildings around campus.

"The positive aspects of the new building certainly win over the negatives in the long-range," said Anderson. With the construction of Classroom Building II come several design labs, a resource library, gallery spaces, and faculty offices for the department.

Not only will Classroom Building II house the Program of Design, but also offices for two other academic departments.

Additionally, the new Mariposa Hall will have 500 lecture spaces, computer laboratories for student instruction, 88 faculty offices, and administrative space for the College of Arts and Letters.

Classroom Building II was designed by E.M. Kado Associates, the firm that also designed Mendocino Hall and Placer Hall.