Development slow on structural projects

[CONSTRUCTION cont. from pg. 1]

This “fantastic place” can be hard for students like Vanessa Barrientos, a 20-year-old electrical engineering student who has yet to see Pierce not under construction.

“It’s still here. I don’t know what they’re going to do exactly,” Barrientos said.

However, she is interested to see what the future holds for the construction sites at Pierce.

“I want to see the outcome, I want to see the before and after. It’s taking them forever. If it’s taking them forever they must be building something special,” Barrientos said.

While half of the planned construction projects at Pierce College have been completed, there remains more than $220 million in the school’s construction budget to finish the remaining projects, according to the September Progress Report.

According to the document, 24 of the 48 campus construction projects at Pierce have been completed with 62 percent of the $627.8 million construction budget spent to date.

One of the uncompleted projects is the Digital Arts and Media building which is expected to replace the former library building that will most likely be demolished and rebuilt, according to Burke.

This building has a current budget of $46.6 million, according to the September Progress Report, and is expected to link the Mall and Arts Center.

“Part of what needs to be done with this building is we need to have a means of bridging the height between the Mall and the Arts Hill, and that’s about 80 feet,” Burke said. Pierce is estimated to be construction-free in April 2018, according to the September Progress Report.

Annual festival returns

Farm Center celebrates Christmas

Jeffrey Howard Roundup Reporter

In the spirit of seasonal festivities, the Pierce College Farm Center is hosting its annual “Santa’s Magical Wonderland” event until Dec. 23. The event is filled with timeless holiday traditions, including choosing from a wide variety of Christmas trees, hayrides and pictures with Santa Claus himself.

Robert McBroom, director of the Farm Center, has been working on the event since the Halloween Harvest Festival ended on Nov. 3.

“It’s transforming from scary to merry. We go right off into Christmas after Halloween,” McBroom said. “There will be over 800 trees, all different types and sizes.”

McBroom went on to say that the event was not so much about the trees but bringing people from the community together. The program is “one of the last traditional Christmas experiences in the Valley,” he said.

“The Farm Center at Pierce College is trying to keep up the tradition of