Unable to compete with current architectural safety standards, the building is now closed as it prepares for demolition. A new structure, the Instructional and Administration Building (IAB), has replaced it and is located just south of the Student Center.
“[The site will become a] really nice green, park-like entrance to the college off Redwood Road,” says SLCC Public Relations Director Joy Tlou. “Instead of seeing a building there, you are going to be able to look right through a couple of groves of trees, a huge fountain and the quad.”
Once demolition has been completed and the site has been brought to ground level, the area will be landscaped to serve as an inviting entrance to the east side of the Taylorsville Redwood Campus.
According to Tlou, the open space, instead of the Administration Building, which somewhat blocked the view of the inner campus area, will create a more inviting atmosphere.
“One of the things we were looking to do, as with the new administration building, was to create a sort of interactive environment,” says Tlou.
Tlou also says, that this open space, along with the designs of the new IAB, will be a significant marker in the college’s movement toward a new way for students to learn and to come to the school; changing the way students interact with the campus.
Plans have been organized and artist renderings of the intended and desired look for the site have been made, providing visuals for what the space might look like once the Administration building is removed.
Though demolition of the Administration Building was set for November 2013, the building is only currently undergoing pre-demolition safety inspections and removal of hazardous material, including asbestos abatement.
“We have to be aware of all of the things you have to be aware of when you’re doing any construction, demolition or landscaping project,” says Tlou.
Working in winter weather, which has caused the ground to become frozen and thus somewhat unmalleable, and verifying that the site is safe and free of all materials, including removal of any external sub-ground piping leading to and from the building, are some issues to consider before demolition crews continue.
“The trick is to do it at the right time, with the right amount of labor and the right amount of resources,” says Tlou.
The Administration building was named after the second president of the college, Jay L. Nelson, who was president of the college from 1949 to 1978. The plan is to name the park-like space after Nelson.
“Our intention is to name that quad, the fountain, that open space, that really great collaborative, shady, park-like area that’s going to be the new entrance to the school, after [Nelson]; and for his legacy,” says Tlou.
