Lawsuit continues over corroded exterior Child Development Center
By Mary Jane Di Theodore
Across Ocean Campus several buildings have been neglected for many years for a variety of reasons. The Child Development Center is less than six years old and the rapid deterioration of the buildings comes from inferior work during the construction process and a lack of maintenance workers assigned to the buildings which has led to a longstanding lawsuit.
The Child Development Center buildings on Ocean Campus located at the corner of Phelan and Judson Ave. are in need of structural repair. The corroded exteriors are falling apart leaving the areas surrounding the building a safety hazard.
The coordinator at the center, Judith Hearst, said the problems with the building “started immediately. Even at the beginning the construction was really shoddy.”
Hearst explained that there is nobody to maintain the buildings. There are chunks of rusted metal that have fallen off the building and are lying on the pavement near the outside walls.
David Hooper, President of the New Mission Terrace Homeowners Association, seemed surprised about the failure of the buildings. “Well over a year ago I noticed that the green roof element had failed and was puzzled,” Hooper said. “After all these are new buildings and were much touted.”
The program is important to not only students who are taking classes or training programs in the child care development field but also to students who have nowhere else to turn for child care for their own children while pursuing an education.
The 55 children on average who spend their weekdays at the Child Development Center will be temporarily relocated from the program’s four buildings into a two-bungalow facility behind Rosenberg Library, a space about half its current session size.
Steve Bruckman General Counsel for the Legal Affairs Department of City College of San Francisco said, “The case is set for trial this summer. A lot of work has occurred but no outcomes. It’s a huge case because all the subcontractors are involved.”
When contacted the Hunt Construction Company who built the center provided no response to inquiries. Rosario Villasana, Department Chair of the Child Development and Family Studies Department could also not be reached for comment by deadline.
The Arizona Republic Sept. 11, 2009 had an article about how The Hunt Construction Company was sued by the developer and contractor of the W Scottsdale Hotel & Residences. They have settled one high-profile legal feud that erupted shortly after the hip hotel opened last fall.
Hunt had filed a lien against the property for $20 million last fall, sparking the lawsuit by Triyar claiming the contractor did poor work, went over budget and delayed the project by more than a year.
Terms were not disclosed. In a statement, Triyar said it was “pleased” to reach the settlement with Hunt.
