Grossmont College reaches construction high point with new Science, Math and Career Tech Complex

Posted on: Dec 13, 2021 12:00:00 AM
In: District
Buildings and Facilities
Contact: David Ogul david.ogul@gcccd.edu

A topping-out ceremony celebrating the pinnacle in construction of Grossmont College’s new Science, Math and Career Tech Complex – which will include an expansive Veterans Resource Center – is set for Friday, Dec. 17, at 9 a.m. It will be held between Parking Lot 3 and Building 41 on the campus at 8800 Grossmont College Drive in El Cajon.

Targeted for completion next spring, the 59,000-square-foot structure being built at a cost of $37.1 million will house essential programs and departments such as Physical Geography and Oceanography, Mathematics, Human Geography, Social Sciences, and Geology.

Topping-out ceremonies are symbolic events that take place once the last beam is placed atop a structure during its construction.

“We’re thrilled to hit this milestone, which in this case illustrates how Grossmont College continues to rise to heights our founders envisioned when the college first opened some 60 years ago,” said Grossmont College President Denise Whisenhunt. “We eagerly anticipate the new Science, Math and Career Tech Complex and its 4,000-square-foot Veterans Resource Center that will serve as a one-stop shop for counseling, tutoring, and camaraderie for our student veterans, active-duty military and military reservists.”

Members of the news media are invited to the topping-out ceremony, which will be held on a patio overlooking and immediately adjacent to the construction site. College, District, and construction officials will be among those signing one of the final beams before it is set in place atop the new building.

Proposition V, a $398-million bond measure, was approved by East County voters in 2012 and has allowed the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District to continue the progress at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges that began after the 2002 passage of Proposition R. The Science, Math and Career Tech Complex will open approximately one year after the opening of Grossmont College’s new Performing and Visual Arts Center, a Proposition V-funded project built at a cost of $44 million. Other Proposition V projects include a newly opened Ornamental Horticulture Complex and a Student Services building under construction at Cuyamaca College.

Grossmont College is transforming lives through education and has served the diverse educational needs of the region’s East County since 1961. With more than 150 certificate and associate degree programs, Grossmont College provides workforce training, career development and transferable college-level coursework to its more than 16,000 students. For more information, visit www.grossmont.edu