By Sarah Campbell
scampbell@salisburypost.com
SALISBURY — Officials at Rowan-Cabarrus Community College are hoping to get construction of the new fire training facility under way by the end of this year.
The $2.3 million project is being funded by a $12 million bond referendum approved by Rowan County voters in November 2010.
Jonathan Chamberlain, the school’s chief planning officer, told the Board of Trustees on Monday that staff at Moseley Architects talked to stakeholders at the college along with fire and emergency personnel within the community before coming up with plans for the new facility.
The project includes a 3,500 square-foot burn building, 2,500 square-foot mock fire station and a training yard.
Those plans were approved by to the State Construction Office in March.
Schematic designs were completed earlier this month and construction documents are expect to be finished in August.
The project is expected to be bid in November.
“We anticipate the start of construction either late December or early January with a six-month duration,” Chamberlain said.
The facility is expected to be in use by the middle of 2013.
Chamberlain also outlined a timeline for the rest of additions and renovations to the North Campus that will be funded by the bond.
Those plans include a 30,000 square-foot addition to Building 600, remodeling about 38,000 square feet in Building 600, and renovating approximately 37,000 square feet in Building 300.
It also includes changes to put the campus in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. That means a remodeled courtyard along with the addition of ramps and elevators.
The project was approved by the State Construction Office earlier this month.
Chamberlain said the schematic designs are currently under way.
The college is hoping to begin that construction at the start of next year.
Dr. Carol Spalding, the college president, said the renovations and additions to the campus are a bit more complicated than building the fire training facility because they involve moving people around.
“We’ve explored some options including using other people’s space, but we are still in that process,” she said.
Spalding said the multifaceted project is moving in the right direction.
“We’re excited about the progress that’s being made, we’re just not happy about the speed.”
Contact reporter Sarah Campbell at 704-797-7683.
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