Posted: Apr 15, 2009, 6:59 AM
|
 |
Registered User
|
|
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Surrey
Posts: 1,771
|
|
|
[Surrey] new District Education and Conference Centre
From Surrey leader
http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_ar...on_centre.html
Quote:
While several Lower Mainland developments have been stalled or abandoned under the current economic conditions, the Surrey School District is planning to start construction on its new District Education and Conference Centre (DECC) in May.
The facility on 140 Street and 92 Avenue will be developed in three phases – the first consisting of a four-level, 11,650-square-metre (125,000-sq.-ft.) building that will house administration, district education programs and services, work stations and meeting spaces. About 475 employees will be accommodated at the new centre.
The design of the $40-million first phase and the site preparation are now complete and contract tenders for construction close in early April.
"DECC is a clear case of self-help for the district," said Laurae McNally, chair of the Surrey Board of Education. "We're renting – which comes out of our operating budget – all these warehouses and office buildings all over Surrey, we're spending a fortune in mileage and time with people driving back and forth and here and there. We knew we had to do something and we know the only way to help ourselves was to do it ourselves because we weren't going to get any help from other levels of government."
The current school board office across from city hall at 142 Street and 56 Avenue is not only 45 years old, but is just 18,000-sq.-ft. Hundreds of district staff members, such as those with the learning resource centre, the aboriginal department, Surrey Connect and Student Support Services, must work at several other leased office locations throughout Surrey.
Despite repeated requests, the B.C. Ministry of Education has refused to provide any funding for a new centralized office building.
To pay for the project, the district has had to put aside a portion of revenue made from facility rentals, continuing education and international student fees.
"For the last number of years, we've been salting away money that we get from things like international ed and continuing ed and we now have enough money to do the first phase," McNally said.
She added while the $40-million initial outlay may seem large, the district is going to save about $1.5 million annually by consolidating staff and services in one location. An independent consultant estimated a savings of $750,000 per year in lease payments and $500,000 in energy expenditures (including the cost for staff to travel between offices).
"We are out in schools all the time and teachers and administrators and parents talk to us about the needs," said McNally. "We will never have enough money to fill all the needs in the district, but freeing up this million-and-a-half dollars a year in our operating budget will sure help.
"It's very frustrating to pour all this money into rental leases year after year when you know what the needs are in the classroom."
Environmentally, the district will also be substantially reducing its carbon footprint. DECC will be built to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standard required for new B.C. public buildings. A mechanical consultant calculated the district's carbon reduction at 62.5 per cent, along with a reduction in gas and electricity costs of 54.7 per cent.
The second and third phases of the project will add a conference centre and warehouse space totalling another 17,000-square-metres.
The entire project cost is estimated at $75-80 million. The district plans to pay for the second phase with money made from the sale of the land the current building stands on on 56 Avenue, as well as another district-owned plot of land nearby. The third phase, said McNally, will likely be funded through more saved revenue or with leftover money if the second comes in under budget.
The first phase of the DECC will open by spring 2011 at the earliest. Timing of the second and third phases will be dependent on the sale of the current district-owned land, as well as other factors.
|
|
Linear Mode
