Bang. Crash. Boom.
Those are the three sounds that resonated Wednesday from the location of one of the oldest campus buildings at College of the Canyons, as the college began the demolition phase of the replacement plan for the campus’ Administration and Records building.
“I’ve been in this building almost 25 years,” said Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook. “When I moved into this building, we had these cement buildings — the stadium, the student center and the gym.”
Van Hook joined the staff as superintendent-president July 11, 1988, when the campus had only a handful of buildings on its Valencia campus. It now has nearly 20 facilities and two sites.
“To be in this building and watch everything grow around it and to carry out our plans has been really cool,” Van Hook said. “Most of the people that work here at the college have been hired in my office.”
COC Board Trustee Bruce Fortine reminisced on countless hours spent in a building that also was often a student’s first point of contact with the college over the last three decades.
“I’ve spent a good portion of my life in this building,” he said.
In February 1982, the building once known as “A” opened its doors. The structure served as the Valencia campus’ main administrative and college services location, housing administrative offices and the campus’ Child Development Center.
On Wednesday, the brick and drywall that housed the records of thousands of students and staff came crashing down.
The demolition clears a path for the campus to build a new two-story, 46,000-square-foot Student Services and Administration building.
The structure will feature computer labs and kiosks for student use in the Admissions & Records office on the first floor.
The second floor will house additional computer stations and the counseling department, as well as the transfer and career centers. Plans also call for a new office to house the financial aid department, and an expanded switchboard and mailroom area.
“It’ll have a bridge over to the library, and we’ll be able to get almost all of the student services into this building,” Van Hook said. “We’ll be able to truly make this into a college services center building.”
COC Says Goodbye With A Bang [VIDEO]
