Construction fences were erected in the Yellow 2 parking lot Halloween morning, marking the first steps toward the long-awaited demolition of the condemned Star Building.
Clark is currently using the building for storage, and has been doing so since purchasing it in 2005. The site will eventually become the new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Building.
The entire cost for the Star Building demolition and gravel lot construction is estimated at $248,000 according to Facilities Services Project Manager Jim Watkins.
Students are still permitted to park in sections of the lot that are not closed-off. According to a rough schedule posted by Watkins, crews will spend the first half of November focusing on removing asbestos from the building, along with relocating vegetation. The building will then be torn down, a process estimated to end after the first week of December.
Crews will lay out a temporary gravel lot for the final weeks of December, creating 86 additional parking spaces winter quarter.
To allow for the possibility of heavy traffic, parking for the Foundation building will be blocked off for the duration of the project. A parking strip near the west end of the Star Building will still be available.
Watkins said in an email to Clark students that there will be signage in the work area and along Fort Vancouver Way to notify students and other commuters of the work and of heavy trucks coming onto the road. He said that all pedestrians should make every effort to avoid the site, and that they should rearrange parking plans for the remainder of the project.
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