News

The State Department of Public Works joined top Rowland Administration officials to mark the start of construction of two higher education projects and the completion of three more during the fall of 2003.

The five projects, totaling $140 million in construction costs, included three major projects for the Connecticut State University System and two for the Connecticut Community College System.

DPW hosted groundbreakings for the $41 million Science Building at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury in September and the $49 million South Residential Village complex at Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic in October.

DPW’s three ribbon-cuttings included the recently completed $18 million mall and parking garage at Central in New Britain, a $10 million Learning Resource Center at Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted, and a $12 million Information Technology Center at Norwalk Community College.

Governor John G. Rowland reiterated his higher education theme at each groundbreaking and ribbon cutting. “The state must continue to have vision, to make investments and to partnership, to build a state university and community college system second to none in the country,” he said.

DPW Commissioner James T. Fleming stated that he was proud of the excellent work performed by the Public Works staff and promised to continue the Governor’s program of modernizing the state’s higher education facilities – “on time and on budget” – while maintaining the highest standards of quality.

WCSU Science Building

The WestConn Science Building groundbreaking was hosted by Lt. Governor M. Jodi Rell, DPW Commissioner Fleming and WestConn President James R. Roach at the Danbury Midtown Campus on Sept. 23, 2003.

The 122,000 square foot three-story building is being constructed at the former football field (which has been moved to the Westside Campus). Completion of the Science Building is set for the spring of 2005.

WestConn is known for its highly-rated Chemistry and Bio-Chemistry curriculum. The new building will increase the University’s Science space by more than 50 percent.

Besides the Chemistry Department, the new Science Building will house the Biology, Physics, Astronomy and Meteorology Departments and the WCSU Weather Station.

The new facility will replace the Higgins Hall labs which date from 1949. The architects for the Science Building are Fletcher Thompson, Inc. of Shelton and Mitchell/Giurgola of New York. The construction administrator is The Morganti Group of Danbury, and the contractor is Fusco Corporation of New Haven.

CCSU Mall and Parking Garage

Gov. John G. Rowland, Central Connecticut State University President Richard L. Judd, and DPW Commissioner Fleming led the dedication ceremony for the new Campus Mall and parking garage at the New Britain campus on Oct. 16, 2003.

The mall, built over the former Wells Street corridor, offers a dramatic landscape in the heart of campus. The project includes an eight-foot fountain, pools containing farm-raised koi, plantings, walkways, stone walls, and amphitheater spaces for students to gather, study and enjoy. The mall is constructed over a new energy/communications tunnel that connects campus buildings to the new Energy Center currently under construction.

The new 1,000-car multi-level parking structure, Welte Garage, is located on the west end of the new mall. The garage’s distinctive towers, and brick, precast and glass façade, are designed to blend in neatly with the other buildings on campus.

The Campus Mall was designed by LADA of Simsbury. The underground conduit and Energy Center engineers are BVH of Bloomfield and Van Zelm Heywood and Shadford of West Hartford.

The construction administrator is DMJM Harris of New York and the contractor is Middlesex/Allstate Corporation of Bristol. The architect for Welte Garage was HNTB of Rocky Hill and the contractor was Downes Construction of New Britain with Manafort of Plainville and Desmond of Farmington.

NWCCC Learning Resource Center

Dr. R. Eileen Baccus, president of Northwestern Connecticut Community College and DPW Commissioner Fleming hosted the ribbon-cutting ceremony officially opening the college’s new Learning Resource Center on Oct. 21, 2003 at the Winsted campus.

The project also included a major restoration of the 108-year old 40,000 square foot Founders Hall and Annex.

The new 24,000 square foot Learning Resource Center brings the college library from South Main Street to the hub of campus. Besides library stacks, the new yellow brick structure with its commanding rotunda also contains computer areas, study space, conference rooms and offices.

The contractor for the project was GAR-SAN Corporation of Watertown.

The Resource Center was designed by Tai Soo Kim Partners of Hartford, and the Founders Hall restoration by architects Bianco Giolitto Weston of Middletown.

ECSU South Residential Village

On Oct. 29, 2003, Governor John G. Rowland joined with Dr. David G. Carter, president of Eastern Connecticut State University, and DPW Commissioner Fleming in Willimantic to officially celebrate the groundbreaking for the South Residential Village.

This 750-bed three-building complex is being constructed across from the west side of the J. Eugene Smith Library. The first dormitory will be completed in August 2004 and the next two by August 2005.

The dormitories will offer students apartment-style living with all of the new buildings consisting of suites.

The project is being financed through the Connecticut Health and Education Facilities Authority with revenue bonds paid through student fees. The authority funds residence hall, student centers, dining halls, parking garages and health facilities.

The project was designed by the architectural firm of ADD, Inc. of Cambridge, MA, and the engineering firm is BVH of Bloomfield. The contractor is Manafort/Perini Joint Venture of Plainville. The construction administrator is the state Department of Public Works.

Norwalk CC Center for Information Technology

Gov. Rowland, NCC President William H. Schwab, Ph.D., and DPW Commissioner Fleming hosted the dedication for Norwalk Community College’s new Center for Information Technology on Nov. 6, 2003.

The Center is a cutting-edge resource including several hundred swing-arm mounted flat screen computers. The 36,000 square foot building houses a videoconferencing/distance learning room, architectural design studio and CADD lab.

The new facility also features a virtual library, a technology-enhanced executive conference room, two technology smart classrooms, six computer labs, two networking labs, and a 50-workstation open computer lab.

NCC’s Center for IT is home for the college’s new Computer Security Institute and Degree Program which was funded by a $688,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. NCC offers one of the few undergraduate computer security degree programs in the country.

The Center was designed by architect Svigals and Partners of New Haven. Svigals added an additional touch of creativity to their work by producing a special series of sculptures in bas relief depicting great minds in the evolution of math, communications and computer technology. The “conversing faces,” which adorn the walls of the atrium

invoking a spirit the past, range from Chinese emperor Fu Hsi who invented the binary system, to Alan Turing, the founder of artificial intelligence.

The construction administrator was Gilbane of Glastonbury and the contractor was Frank Mercede & Sons, Inc. of Stamford.

The state Department of Public Works is responsible for the design and construction of major capital building projects (except highways and bridges) for most state agencies, leasing and acquisitions statewide, and facility management, maintenance and security of state buildings in the greater Hartford area.