Please Excuse the Dust while We Are Under Construction.

Over the next couple of years, Caltech will witness an unprecedented amount of building-construction activity. In addition to the continuing construction of the three-story, 100,000-square-foot Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (Cahill) on California Blvd., there will be two other new buildings starting construction. The three-story, 50,000-square-foot Annenberg Center for Information Science and Technology (IST) will begin construction in December 2007 and continue through July 2009, and the three-story, 60,000-square-foot Schlinger Laboratory for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE) will begin construction in February 2008 and continue through December 2009.

Unlike the Cahill building, the other two buildings will be built within the main campus. The IST building will be built in the area between Moore Lab and Steele House on the south side of Moore Walk, and the CCE building will be built in the area between Noyes and BBB Labs on the north side of San Pasqual Walk.

Construction crews will be working on campus, and space will be required for staging areas and parking. Below are details on where the construction zones will be, what areas will be fenced off and what access routes will be provided for construction activities, campus operations, and pedestrian traffic. Care will be taken to maintain existing service roads and pathways, and limit disruption to the general campus as much as possible.

The facilities department realizes that the construction of these buildings will result in some inconveniences, but it hopes that members of the Caltech community will understand that these are necessary in order to build the projects.

Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics (Cahill)

The yellow area on the map, south of California Blvd., indicates the construction site for the Cahill project, which began in January 2007 and will be completed in December 2008. Recent progress includes the pouring of concrete on the third floor. The general contractor is using the California Blvd. parking structure for their parking, and construction trailers have been set up on the first two tennis courts near California Blvd.

Walter and Leonore Annenberg Center for Information Science and Technology (IST)

The purple area on the map indicates the proposed project site. This area, which has been fenced off, includes the Moore Lab parking lot; landscape areas between Moore Lab and Steele House; the lawn area south of Moore Walk between Moore Lab and Holliston Ave.; and the Steele House carriage house, pool house, and pool. The east-west service drive south of Moore Lab will be closed off east of the Moore Lab loading dock. Designated parking for contractors will be in the surface lot on the east side of Holliston Ave., south of the fire station. City-approved truck routes will be on Hill Ave. or Lake Ave. to Del Mar Blvd., then south on Holliston Ave. To minimize traffic disruptions to the campus, construction-related traffic will not be allowed on Holliston Ave. south of the circle.

In addition, the following will take place:

Street parking on north Holliston Ave. will be eliminated.
Moore Walk will remain open to pedestrian traffic and service vehicles.
Parking relocations from the Moore Lab parking lot will be coordinated through the parking office.
The emergency phone on Moore Walk at the northeast corner of Moore Lab will be retained.
Selected trees will be relocated from the construction site.

Warren & Katharine Schlinger Laboratory for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (CCE)

The pink area on the map shows the proposed project site. The dark pink area is currently fenced off for underground utility relocation. In January, all of the remaining pink areas will be fenced off. In addition, the Beckman Institute lawn area along Wilson Ave. will be fenced off for use as a staging area, parking of construction trailers, and storage of relocated trees. Designated parking for contractors will be at the California Blvd. parking structure. Truck routes to the site will be from Hill Ave. or Lake Ave. to Del Mar Blvd., south on Wilson Ave., then onto the service road between Beckman Institute and Noyes Lab. In addition, the following will take place:

Parking relocations from the BBE service court will be coordinated through the parking office.
The service road between Beckman Institute and Noyes Lab will remain accessible for deliveries to those buildings only.
Selected trees will be relocated from the construction site.
Required deliveries to BBB Lab will be from Michigan Ave. to the north end of BBB.

Storm Drain Relocation

The proposed CCE building will require the relocation of a large storm drain from under the footprint of the proposed building to Beckman Mall (formerly called the Court of Man). The green area on the map indicates the proposed project site. This area has been fenced off. The project will be completed by February, 2008. The sidewalks on either side of Beckman Mall will remain open to pedestrian and service vehicles. However, the BBB sidewalk on the west side of the the mall will terminate at its north end. The truck route to the site will be from Del Mar Ave., then south on Michigan Ave. to Beckman Mall.

Service Courtyard Enhancements

The proposed CCE building will require the removal of the existing service road that currently runs through the site to the Church/Alles/Kerckoff/Crellin courtyard. San Pasqual Walk from Wilson Ave. will be utilized as the replacement service road. In order to ensure that service vehicles do not block San Pasqual Walk, enhancements to the Church/Alles/Kerckoff/Crellin courtyard will be made to allow it to be more easily utilized by service vehicles. This area, shown in dark yellow, will go through minor renovations in December. Cart and truck parking on San Pasqual Walk between Wilson Ave. and the vehicular entrance to the courtyard will be prohibited.

Future Sculpture Garden

The light green area on the map is the proposed site for a new sculpture by artist Lloyd Hamrol. The site will be fenced off from July 2009 to December 2009 for construction of the sculpture and associated landscape improvements.

Construction Hours

The following construction schedule will be followed for all the projects:
Monday to Friday: 7a.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday (if necessary) 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There will be no work on Sundays and holidays.

Please look for regular updates on this website, on Caltech Today, and the Caltech Weekly Update.

Questions?

If you have questions regarding these construction projects, feel free to e-mail newbuildings@caltech.edu.

All parking-related issues should be directed to parking@caltech.edu.