$145m Gateway Community College to be topped-off in January; designed for LEED Gold certification

One year into construction of the new Gateway Community College (GWCC), one third of the construction has been completed, and the project is on schedule to wrap up in time for the fall 2012 semester. Onlookers have watched as the precast garage took shape, as foundations were set, and as the project was brought up out of the ground to street level. With steel erection starting back in August, the first major public construction milestone—the topping off ceremony—is scheduled to take place on January 21, 2011. Through the first half of 2011, the exterior façade work will take shape with a target building weather tight time frame by late July 2011. Mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection systems and interior finishes are expected to be substantially complete by April 2012. The project is estimated to generate over 800 construction jobs to the area. The team has achieved a total of 44% of SBE and 25% M/W/DBE awarded contracts on this $145 million project. Located on two parcels on Church St., at the home of the former Macy's and Malley's department stores, the project consists of two main buildings connected by a pedestrian bridge over George St., with a 600-car garage adjacent to the existing Temple St. Garage. A key element of the historic Gateway Downtown Development Project, the new location will give one central and spacious new home to the college's two campuses currently located in North Haven and Long Wharf, both of which were crowded and complicated by parking issues. The approximately 380,000 s/f will include a publicly accessible first floor offering a library, a restaurant attached to Gateway's culinary school, and a health clinic and day care center, gallery space, and a bookstore. The close proximity to the Yale New Haven Hospital will be convenient for Gateway's nursing and radiation technology students, many of whom will seek internships and employment at the hospital. Designed for LEED Gold, and anticipated to be the first LEED Gold certified public project in the state, GWCC incorporates numerous sustainable strategies and technologies, including solar hot water, ice storage, photovoltaic and green roof systems.