As visual elements of the San Diego Community College District’s (SDCCD) $1.55 billion construction bond program begins transforming the urban landscape around San Diego, officials are calling it a renaissance that will provide a well-trained workforce for the region’s economic future. In downtown, San Diego City College celebrated the grand opening of its 88,000-square-foot Career Technology Center (CTC). The $63.1 million, five-story building, located on the corners of 16th and C streets, will house the nursing, cosmetology and photography departments. The new CTC is connected to a 694-space parking facility, with 33 spaces for high fuel-efficiency vehicles, and space for a campus police station. The largest vertical solar array of its kind in the country, with more than 350 panels, providing up to 8 percent of the building’s total energy needs, is located on the top of the parking structure. “Everything is going in the right direction,” said Debbie Berg, director of the nursing department at SDCCD. “The college district is making great strides, and our students are going to be better educated than in the past.” Berg said that going from the oldest building on the City College campus with antiquated facilities to the newest, with state-of-the-art resources, provided a better learning environment for the more than 160 students currently enrolled in the nursing program. “We had a lot of input into the design of the building and we got what we wanted,” said Berg, an employee at City College since 1989. “We have a great program, and now we have a really beautiful building to go along with it.” In 2002, San Diego voters passed Proposition S, a bond measure which granted $685 million to upgrade the college district’s aging educational facilities at City, Mesa and Miramar colleges, and six continuing education campuses throughout the county. In 2006, voters passed Proposition N, which provided an additional $870 million. According to Ursula Kroemer, spokeswoman for Gafcon, a construction consulting firm providing program management services for the Proposition S and N construction program, City College has a total of 19 projects totaling more than $263 million associated with the construction bond program. Projects completed so far on the downtown campus include renovations to the Learning Resource Center, creation of the Modular Village for temporary classroom needs during the construction period, and renovations to the Exercise Science, Health and Athletics building. New construction projects expected to begin soon include a 72,000-square-foot Math and Social Sciences building, a 70,000-square-foot Arts and Humanities building, and a 40,000-square-foot Business Technology building. Additionally, City College is undergoing several infrastructure projects which include a new central plant, upgrades to street, sewer and storm drains, and new data and telecommunication portals. “It’s all about jobs,” said board President Rich Grosch, adding that when the recession is over and the economy really starts recovering, the SDCCD will be poised to take on the challenge of meeting the needs of the new workforce. “They’re going to be able to get real jobs making real money and that’s how we’re going to pull this economy up.” Grosch said that the district expects to have 26 new buildings either begin or complete construction within the next 12 to 18 months. With more than 100,000 students, the SDCCD is the second largest community college district in California, and sixth largest in the United States. Chancellor Constance Carrol said voters have invested in San Diego by investing in the community college district, and that their repayment will be a well-trained workforce. Carrol cautioned that the state’s funding situation is dire, and that the need for investment in the district is enormous. She pointed out that funding from Propositions S and N will only take care of about 75 percent of the district’s needs. “We will continue to find ways to provide for the community,” said Carrol. “We will always keep looking to the future, particularly in technology because things will continue to change.”