DURHAM TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

FY 2017-2026 CIP

Project Description Form

 

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Project Title: Durham Technical Community College Main Campus Phase 1 - Newton Building Expansion/Renovation and Relocation of Facilities Services

 

Project Manager/Department: Matt Williams/Durham Tech

 

Project Description:

 

This project will include the following components:

 

• A 20,000 to 30,000 square foot expansion of the Newton Building to include provide additional space for Automotive Systems and Construction Trades and to relocate classrooms and labs for Industrial Systems (including welding and HVAC labs), Architectural Technology, Electrical/Electronics Technology, Computer-Aided Machining Technology, and additional “flex space” to provide for the development of future Industrial and Engineering Technologies programs;

 

• Demolition of the North Wing of the Newton Building to provide additional parking for buildings on Cooper St;

 

• Construction of a new Facilities Service Building for and shipping and receiving, warehousing and storage, and general work space for Facilities Services personnel;

 

• Demolition of the Existing Facilities Services Building located on Bacon Street; and

 

• Construction of a new surface parking lot on the site of the existing Facilities Service Building

 

 

 

Project Justification

 

The Newton Building is a 40,000 square-foot one-story building located on Cooper St. that houses a variety of Industrial and Engineering subjects programs including Architectural Technology, Automotive Technology, Computer-Aided Machining, Construction Trades, Electrical/Electronics Technology, Electronics Engineering Technology. About half of the rooms are general purpose classrooms and computer labs, and the other half is comprised of lab or shop space to support the programs listed above.  

 

The building is currently fully occupied, meaning the college has no space to expand current programs (such as Automotive Technology) to meet growing demand, or to offer new program Industrial and Engineering programs.  Because of a lack of space, the Industrial Systems program, which includes content closely related to our other Industrial and Engineering programs, is currently located in a separate building (807 Bacon St.) which primarily houses administrative and support operations such as Marketing and Communications, and Research, Evaluation, Assessment and Planning. 

 

The north half was built in 1970 as a manufacturing building. Durham Tech acquired the property in the early 1980s and added the south half with classrooms shops that house the automotive technology and construction trades programs.  Since acquiring the property the college has made minor cosmetic upgrades.

 

Overall, the finishes inside the building are dingy and dirty. Most exterior and interior walls are painted concrete masonry (CMU). Most of the large shops have exposed ceilings with painted structure; classrooms have 2'x4' acoustic ceiling tiles (ACT), many of which are broken, dirty, or missing. Classroom, office, and hallway floors are covered in vinyl tile (VCT), which is old, dirty, and cracked. Overall, the building has a drab, grungy look. 

 

The walls for the faculty offices along the north side are partition panels with batten seams every 4 feet.  These offices are cramped and dark. Tile & finishes in the restrooms in the north wing have been replaced, but are dirty and stained. The vanities have plastic laminate countertops and mismatched and chipped wood cabinet doors. The HVAC system is poor and temperatures frequently fluctuate significantly from day to day.  Interior lighting, plumbing, and electrical systems are all old and contain worn-out components.

 

The interior walls in the southern half of the building are CMU, which is durable, but makes future renovations complicated. Rooms cannot be made larger or smaller without significant demolition equipment. This is an old enough building, with enough worn-out components and systems (electrical, mechanical, plumbing) that any renovation would be extensive.

 

Based on the condition current condition of the building, the expense involved in renovating portions of the building (in particular the northern half), and the challenge of relocating existing programs during a renovation, O’Brien-Atkins Architects have recommended we take the following steps: 

 

• Demolish the north half of the building and replace it with new instructional space to better accommodate existing programs, consolidate the Industrial Systems program currently located elsewhere, and provide for future program expansion; and

 

• Construct a new secondary entrance lobby with administrative space on the southern face of the existing building.

 (Note that the college included funds to renovate and expand the Newton Building as part of the 2007 bond issue.  However, based on the significant cost and calendar overruns we experienced in the renovation of the White Building (completed in 2011) we realized our request for funds for the adaptive reuse and expansion of the Newton Building was grossly insufficient.)

 

The Facilities Services building is a one-story, brick building, with a steel structure that is used primarily for storage and warehousing.  The office wing has a poor air handling and air conditioning system. Heating in the office are is provided by electric baseboard units. The roof has numerous leaks.  Perimeter walls also show signs of water leaks around the edges of the roof above.

 

The Bacon Street façade has an entrance canopy constructed with exposed structural steel that is badly rusted.  Entrance stair handrails are also badly rusted. This façade also has a decorative 4" concrete masonry screen which is warping noticeably and is in danger of falling. There is also some visible cracks in interior and exterior blocks in CMU walls, and CMU joint lines are cracked or pulling way from intersecting walls in several places. Some of the interior overhead concrete masonry is cracked and has shifted out of place, and is in danger of falling.

 

The building's bathrooms are original to the 1965 construction and are in awful condition. There are also existing abandoned bathrooms that are left over from its days as a factory. The building's light fixtures and electrical systems need to be replaced. None of the entrances are handicapped accessible. There is an area towards the northwest corner that has some of the original rooms and restrooms from the 1960's-1980's factory, and is not used. The finishes and fixtures in this area are beyond repair in these facilities are beyond replacement or repair.

 

Renovation costs for this this building would be excessive.  Demolishing this facility also provides the college with a footprint for surface parking that will be needed to accommodate a new Health Technologies Center that is the central feature of Phase II of our campus renovation plan. Therefore, O’Brien-Atkins has recommended we demolish this building and relocate Facilities Services operations and the college’s warehouse to a new building, constructed at the southernmost end of the parking lot that is south of the Newton Building.

 

Project Alternatives:

 

An alternative would to renovate the North Wing of the Newton building and the Facilities service Building instead of demolishing those buildings.  That alternative would cost approximately the same.

 

 

Project Status/Updated:

 

Project status in in the pre-planning stage.

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Relationship to Other Projects:

 

This is the first phase of the Campus Master Plan.  Phase 2 includes a new Health Technologies Facility located on property the college owns between Lawson St. and Cooper St. immediately west of the Wynn Student Services Center.

 

Explanation of Annual Operating Costs and Operations Related to Project

 

The additional costs shown are for a part-time housekeeper and utilities cost of the addition space minus the square footage being demolished.