By Brian Ruth
The Scene staff
Larger construction projects at Forest Park have been completed, and students can now walk across the main patio unimpeded by supplies and equipment.
But smaller campus improvements and repairs will continue this fall.
The work will include replacement of skylights on Towers E, F and G that were damaged in an August storm; and preparation of a classroom and F-Lot pavilion for a new truck-driving course.
“That’s what we’re focusing on right now,” said Forest Park Grounds Manager John Vansaghi. “(But) we always have office renovations. They’re kind of always on-going.”
The Student Center renovation, including remodeling of the Highlander Lounge and rearrangement of several offices, was completed in time for the start of spring semester.
The budget of $1.5 million also included funds for a new Hospitality Studies kitchen near the cafeteria.
But work on the patio under the bridge connecting D and E Towers produced some “unforeseen circumstances,” according to a St. Louis Community College Board of Trustees report in April.
“We found issues with the concrete below, and it was worse than expected,” Vansaghi said. “The concrete was actually breaking away from the columns that support the patio.”
The Board of Trustees approved an additional $83,315 to expand the scope of R.V. Wagner’s contract to include the new repairs. The base bid was $795,873.
District Engineering and Design Coordinator Ken Kempf said the additional patio work was finished within budget.
“The Forest Park patio went over the initial cost outlay because we found all the hidden conditions,” he said. “After that, with the extent of the damage, we went ahead and budgeted for the additional cost.”
But Vansaghi wasn’t able to rest for long. On Aug. 27, strong storms with 40 mph wind gusts shattered sections of the skylights on E, F and G Towers.
Like the patio rebuild, skylight replacement is expected to bid higher than initially estimated.
“We’re going to design a whole new system, just for the west wing and the Student Center,” Vansaghi said. “It’s going to be costly.”
Kempf’s department is in the process of hiring an architect. Bids will probably be submitted early next year.
In the B Tower basement, Vansaghi is working to get Room B-O11 prepared for the college’s new truck-driving course, which will include a simulator purchased for $106,700, according to a Board of Trustees report.
STLCC received $2,987,000 as part of a $23.8 million grant to the Mississippi River Transportation, Distribution & Logistics Consortium to develop the six-week Truck Driving CDL-A Training course, which will be offered at Forest Park.
“Our program is going to be about quality driving,” said Rene Dulle, Workforce Solutions Group senior project coordinator.
People wondering what is going on with the barricades dividing F-Lot in half now have an answer. That’s where the truck-driving students will be piloting two semis purchased for the program.
“We are using F-Lot at Forest Park for a driving range for backing up and parallel-parking exercises,” Dulle said. “We just purchased them from Swift Transportation, and they’ll be here in a month or so and will stay on F-Lot.”