The Communique

Issue date: 8/20/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Illustration contributed The horticulture building is going to be located across from Washington Hall. The 40,000 square-foot, $6.9 million project will be finished in summer 2008.

Media Credit: Illustration contributed The addition to Cedar Hall is 87,000 square feet and will cost an estimated $13.9 million. The project is set to be completed in December of 2008.

Media Credit: Natalie Niemeyer A worker constructs foundation on what used to be East Campus on Tuesday. Four East Campus temporary buildings were torn down in May to build the addition onto Cedar Hall.

Media Credit: Natalie Niemeyer

Along with the start of a new school year, Kirkwood Community College has started construction on two major buildings: An addition to Cedar Hall and a new horticulture building.

Last May demolition of four out-dated East Campus buildings was finished to make way for new and more efficient buildings.

Construction began in June on both buildings. The horticulture building will be 40,000 square feet and will be located across from Washington Hall. The project will cost $6.9 million and is set to be finished next summer by Knutson Construction of Iowa City. Various Art classes will fill the old horticulture building, which is being updated with a $200,000 firing kiln for pottery classes.

The addition to Cedar Hall will be 87,000 square feet and will be home to English, social science and learning service departments. The $13.9 million building is scheduled to be done in December of 2008. Kleiman Construction, a Cedar Rapids based company, is contracting the project. The addition will tie in different materials from Benton and Nielson halls exteriors, like bricks and glass, to make it blend in to the area.

"We're trying to tie the whole central campus into a theme," Executive Director of Facilities, Tom Kaldenberg said. He is serving as the campus engineer works closely with the contractors and overseeing the projects that go on at Kirkwood. "Right now everything is going as planned," he said.

The next project that Kaldenberg will work on is a 35,000 square-foot addition to Jones Hall that will start next summer. The renovation includes areas for students studying HVAC, masonry, carpentry and plumbing.

Additionally, next summer a renovation will be done to the green house in Linn Hall. The existing green house will be torn down to make room for a simulation lab for medical students, including test mannequin for aspiring doctors and nurses to practice on. The goal is for Linn Hall to eventually only house math science and health science departments.

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