Long Beach City College (LBCC)’s campus community and the community-at-large celebrated the completion of their newest taxpayer funded state-of-the-art facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Liberal Arts Campus on April 20. Building M is a new three-story multi-disciplinary building that houses academic areas such as Language Arts, Foreign Language, Reading, Computer & Office Studies, as well as the Disabled Student Programs and Services program.

“The opening of Building M is not just a celebration of a new facility, but a testament to our commitment to provide students with the latest technology and tools to empower their learning,” said LBCC Board of Trustees President Herlinda Chico. “We are forever grateful to the communities we serve for their continuous support of our students through the modernization of our buildings, where they can prepare for the future in our ever-evolving world.”

The new building replaces the original M and N Buildings that were constructed in 1935, and could no longer met the College’s education and facility needs. Building M provides state-of-the-art educational facilities that will address instructional plans and objectives well into the 21^st century.

“This high-tech, environmentally sustainable facility is a true multi-purpose marvel,” said LBCC Superintendent-President Dr. Mike Muñoz. “It will serve as a versatile space that offers academic classes, cutting-edge technology and comprehensive student services to meet the needs of our diverse campus community.”

Highlights of the nearly 82,000 square-foot, three-story structure include:

• Modern classrooms, computer labs, meeting spaces, offices, and maintenance facilities featuring the latest technology. All classrooms have high-quality audio and cameras that will allow faculty to conduct hybrid courses, in-person lecture while hosting an online course, or to have virtual guest lecturers during an in-person class.
• Study huddle spaces featuring TV monitors with high-quality audio/visual systems that can connect to laptops to aid in student collaboration and the ability to record assignments.
• A film theater within a large lecture hall that features surround sound, and a high-resolution projector that will allow the College to feature student film projects or film screenings.
• All conference rooms contain full audio/visual equipment including projectors, cameras, TV displays, and video conferencing capabilities.
• Inviting outdoor spaces for students to gather and learn.
• Full accessibility for disabled students.
• First LBCC building to feature cutting-edge Access Control and Lock Down safety system – providing an extra layer of security for students and staff.
• LEED Gold certified for its environmentally friendly features.

This was also the first state-funded design-build project, which ultimately led to significant time and cost savings throughout the construction process. In a design-build project, the architectural design and construction services are provided by a single entity, streamlining the process and fostering collaboration between the design and construction teams. This method is in contrast to the traditional design-bid-build approach, where the design and construction processes are contracted separately.

The design-build team consisted of HPI Architecture as the building architect and C.W. Driver as the general contractor.

The Cordoba Corporation oversees and manages all Measure E and LB projects.

Construction began in February 2020 and the project was funded by both the State and by Measure E and Measure LB bond funds approved by the voters in the communities served by LBCCD for renovation and modernization at both LBCC’s Pacific Coast and Liberal Arts Campuses.

Building M recently received the Education: Community College Project Award ($50 million – $100 million category) from the Construction Management Association of America in recognition of the quality of construction, completion of the project on schedule and as the first design-built project in California.

Photo caption (front row left to right):

Javier Villaseñor, Long Beach City College Dean of Counseling and Student Support Services; Maria Ek Ewell, LBCC Director of Disabled Student Programs & Services; Nicole Glick, LBCC Dean of Language Arts & Communication; Diana Craighead, Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education President; Megan Kerr, City of Long Beach Councilmember; Uduak-Joe Ntuk, Long Beach Community College District Board of Trustees Member; Herlinda Chico, LBCCD Board of Trustees President; Dr. Mike Muñoz, LBCCD Superintendent-President; Vivian Malauulu, LBCCD Board of Trustees Member; Dr. Virginia Baxter, LBCCD Board of Trustees Member; Sunny Zia, LBCCD Board of Trustees Member; Alex Hernandez, LBCCD Student Trustee; and Rachel Ng, LBCC student.