Grand re-opening party held at John Adams campus

Three-year refit’s completion marks the return of all classes to campus

By Estela Fuentes
The Guardsman

In appreciation of San Francisco taxpayers and voters who made it possible to renovate City College’s John Adams Campus, faculty and administrators will host a grand opening celebration today, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m.

“It’s our way of expressing our thanks to all that helped bring about this newly remodeled and safer campus,” John Adams Management Assistant Joe Kelleher said.

Renovations made to the building consist of infrastructure and cosmetic repairs, brick retrofitting, seismic upgrades and electrical upgrades.

The renovations were paid for through two phases of Proposition A funding. San Francisco voters approved the Phase I bond for $195 million in 2001 and Phase II for $246.3 million in 2005.

All renovation to the campus were done within the designated budget, according to a report by the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee.

Classes were offered during construction in areas of the building not being renovated, said Martha Lucey, dean of the City College Office of Marketing and Public Information. However, most classes were moved to the DeAvila Middle School on Haight Street during the project.

Located at 1860 Hayes Street, the John Adams campus houses the college’s School of Health and Physical Education, which was founded in 1993. It consists of 64 classrooms and labs, an auditorium and a state-of the-art child care center, as well as counseling and administrative services.

In addition to free noncredit English as a second language courses, John Adams offers credit and non-credit business courses to develop office skills. They also offer credit Vocational Nursing, Nutrition Assistant and Health Care Technology Programs.

“We are happy with the results of the construction, we are glad to be back at just one place,” Kelleher said. “John Adams campus was divided into two different locations for three years.”