Groundbreaking Held for $6.8 Million Child Development Center

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. — The voices of nearly 100 children wearing hard hats rang out resoundingly at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new $6.8 million child development center at Pierce College.

Representatives from the campus and the Los Angeles Community College District where also on hand at the campus, which is designed to serve as an educational program for young children and a fieldwork site for students in the child development program at the college. The center will also offer student-parents affordable childcare while they attend classes.

The nearly 20,000-square-foot building is scheduled for completion in 2009. It is designed to meet LEED standards and to blend with the college’s mission-style architecture. Plans include low water use plumbing fixtures, carbon dioxide monitors, daylighting and low VOC emitting adhesives, sealants, paints and carpets.

LACCD’s sustainability policy requires that 75 percent of construction waste be diverted away from landfills for recycling and some building materials will come from recycled sources. Construction materials will also be locally harvested and manufactured.