January 15, 2015

Los Angeles Valley College Celebrates Groundbreakings of two projects: Valley College Gateway and the Athletic Training Facility

Gateway project will serve workforce development offices and as administrative center, and the Athletic Training Facility will serve baseball, softball, and a variety of track and field sports; both are built to high sustainability standards

January 14, 2015 (Valley Glen, California) – Los Angeles Valley College today celebrated the beginning of construction on two new campus projects funded by the Los Angeles Community College District’s $6 billion Building Program. The first building, the Community Work Force Development Center, (also known as the Valley College Gateway), will house the new administrative center of the college and will be the new home for the college’s workforce development programs.

The second building, the Athletic Training Facility will be a significant new addition to Valley’s sports facilities. It will include a stadium field house, a baseball field, a softball field, a javelin throw field, and an archery, hammer throw and discus area.

Preparing our students for the jobs the Los Angeles economy is producing is one of our most important missions, and with the new Valley College Gateway housing Valley’s workforce development efforts and classrooms, students will have more resources than ever before,” said Board of Trustees President Scott Svonkin. “Our Building Program is all about helping students achieve their dreams, and these two new buildings at Valley will help make that possible.”

The 77,000-square-foot, two-story, $35 million Community Work Force Development Center, (also known as the Valley College Gateway), will serve as the new administrative center of the college and will house the LAVC Job Training / Extension and the CalWORKS/GAIN offices, whose focus are on workforce development. The Valley College Gateway will be a multipurpose facility, including classrooms and meeting spaces in addition to administrative offices. The building expects to be certified LEED Silver for environmental design. It is expected to be completed in mid-2016.

Budgeted at $31 million, the Athletic Training Facility will include 25,000-square feet of new athletic space at Valley College. It is expected to be completed this fall.

The Valley College Gateway building and the Athletic Training Facility will be significant new buildings for Valley College students and the surrounding community, and will allow the college to better serve our students and the workforce development needs of the region,” said Dr. Erika Endrijonas, president of Valley College. “This new facility will continue Valley’s modernization thanks to the LACCD Building Program, and will preserve Valley’s reputation as one of the top community colleges in Southern California.”

As an immigrant who came to the U.S. at age 8, I know how important Valley College is to our communities, and I want to thank the voters for their continuing investment in our community colleges,” said Adrin Nazarian, a member of the California State Assembly whose district includes Valley College. “I am pleased to participate in today’s groundbreakings, and I look forward to seeing the projects built so that our communities can benefit from the services and facilities within their walls.”

The new buildings are being paid for with funding approved by voters as part of the $6 billion Los Angeles Community College Building Program. Valley is one of nine colleges that make up the LACCD. Valley College is in the midst of a $612 million program to renovate, modernize, and expand the campus to better serve the San Fernando Valley and all of Los Angeles.

These two buildings will serve our students and the Valley College community in distinctly different ways,” noted Dr. Francisco Rodriguez, chancellor of the nine-college LACCD. “The Athletic Training Facility will help our students achieve their sports dreams, while the Valley College Gateway project will help them find the kind of job that can turn into a lifetime career.”

Also speaking at the event were Sukhsimran Sandhu, ASU president; Lennie Ciufo, Valley’s job training director; Jim Fenwick, Valley’s Athletic Director; and Mark Strauss, who oversees all construction at the college. Also attending the event were LACCD trustees Mona Field and Nancy Pearlman, and former Valley College presidents Tyree Wieder and Susan Carleo.

About Los Angeles Valley College Los Angeles Valley College has met the educational needs of the San Fernando Valley since 1949 by offering courses for transferring to a four-year university, career training and lifelong learning. The college has nearly 200 full-time faculty and more than 400 part-time instructors who serve approximately 20,000 students. Valley College primarily serves the Los Angeles suburbs of Van Nuys, North Hollywood, Valley Village, Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Encino, Lake Balboa, Pacoima, Panorama City, Sun Valley and Burbank.

About the Los Angeles Community College District The Los Angeles Community College District, the nation's largest community college district, serves one-quarter million students a year in more than 36 cities in Los Angeles County at its nine colleges. The District covers nearly 900 square miles and has educated and trained the region's diverse workforce since 1969.

About the LACCD Building Program LACCD’s Building Program is a 15-year, $6 billion program funded mostly by taxpayer-approved bonds, supplemented by additional funding from the state of California. With more than $4 billion spent so far, the LACCD’s nine colleges are benefiting from brand new and renovated academic buildings, sports facilities, arts complexes, administrative buildings, child development centers, and parking structures. The Building Program has completed hundreds of separate projects, with hundreds more in the planning or construction stages. For more information on the LACCD’s construction program and a list of awards the District has received for its environmentally responsible projects, visit www.laccdbuildsgreen.org.