Deal includes $2.2M profit for developer; project remains ‘top priority’ but put on hold   While College of the Canyons officials said Wednesday that building an advanced technology center meant to help students become better equipped to enter the workforce is the top facilities priority, those plans are now officially on a $10 million hold.  At a special meeting on Wednesday, the Santa Clarita Community College District board of trustees, which oversees COC, approved purchasing the land where the ATC was meant to be built, along with the building plans, from Intertex for approximately $10 million.  Of that $10 million, roughly $5.5 million was for the land, $845,000 was for the design plans and $3.7 million was for all of the project permits and authorizations, according to COC officials.   Included in the $3.7 million is $2.2 million for the developer’s profit.  The college’s legal counsel checked all of the numbers and confirmed that they were in line with what the college should be paying, said board President Edel Alonso.   Alonso said the previous administration, most of whom are no longer employed by the college, was not transparent about the true cost of the project.   The board approved the 30,000-square-foot facility in May 2023 for just under $20 million, an amount that was amended in February to more than $22 million.  But after further review in April of what an ATC would need to meet industry demands, it was determined that the true cost would be $16 million more than that, bringing it to a grand total of $38 million. It was also determined that the profit margin for the developer would be above the usual 8% range, Alonso said.  Those numbers were calculated by Erin Tague, vice president of facilities, who had taken over the position on an interim basis in October 2023 before eventually having the interim tag removed.  “I hope you can understand why the board has been dissatisfied with the ATC project,” Alonso said.  The ATC was meant to be built at 26650 Valley Center Drive, off of Golden Valley and Soledad Canyon roads. The project was set to be paid for using Measure E funds. Measure E was a $230 million general obligation bond approved by voters in 2016.  For now, the district will use $10 million from its general fund rather than using bond money, a move that will allow for greater flexibility in the future, according to Jason Hinkle, associate vice president of business services.  “We can explore the option of selling the property and reimbursing the general fund if we decide that we want to build this ATC in another location,” Hinkle said, adding that there is an 18-month window for the district to reimburse the general fund with bond money should a Measure E project be approved for that site.  Hinkle said there would be no long-term risk to the general fund, and that while there would be a low reserve for a while, that would be remedied by either building the ATC or selling the land for profit, or at least close to the buying price.  Future meetings will be held involving people from across the college and the workforce industry to determine the best course of action for the ATC, according to COC interim President David Andrus.  ATC timeline  Alonso began the meeting by pulling data from a 2019 report from the National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers that the previous administration had used in the initial discussions.  “(This is) something that I recently acquired,” Alonso said. “I had not seen it, and I don’t believe any of the board members had ever.”  According to the report, Alonso said, the recommendations were for a 111,000-square-foot facility with a pro forma budget draft of $50 million. A list of recommended sites was also included in the report, she said.  Four public meetings were then held starting in 2023 at which the ATC was discussed. Alonso said both members of the public and the board had questions about the project.  “However, the previous administrative leadership vigorously recommended that the board approve a contract with said contractor to build the ATC on Golden Valley Center Drive,” Alonso said, “and at no time provided a pro forma document, as requested by the board, that would provide a line-item cost of the project.”  After Tague had found the true total cost of $38 million — the original contract of $22 million was just for the building shell and did not include any of the machinery or necessary upgrades to make it a working facility, Tague said — the previous administration led by now-former Chancellor Dianne Van Hook sent a letter to Intertex on July 3 stating that the district was exercising “the right of termination for convenience under section 15 of the agreement.”  However, the district did not know at the time that Intertex had already procured the construction funds for the project, making that clause of the contract invalid, and as a result the contract was still in effect despite the cancellation letter, Tague said.  Both parties then agreed to negotiate on a settlement. Those talks were led by Hague and Hinkle with help from the district’s legal counsel, Sherman Wong, and were “amicable and respectful,” Hinkle said.  Roughly a week after the letter was sent, Van Hook was placed on leave before she eventually announced her retirement.  Next steps  By putting the plans back in the hands of the district, it will save the district approximately $2 million should it continue with the project in its current state, according to Hinkle.  Rather than $38 million, Hinkle estimates that the full facility could be constructed for $26 million. Another $3 million would be required for furniture, fixtures and equipment, while the $10 million for the settlement is also included in that.  “So the advantages to this settlement: one is lower cost of development, like we just showed. The district will save money on this ATC project if we were to build that center on that site,” Hinkle said. “It also will give us increased oversight. We’ll have control and oversight of the building development, design, construction and implementation to ensure that it meets instructional and industry needs. We’ll also have improved budget and cost controls.”  But what the district plans to do with the ATC is currently on hold, as Andrus wants to meet with the executive cabinet and other college leaders to figure out how best to approach the future of the project.  Andrus said the current plans would only allot for four programs to be housed at the ATC, while there are more than 20 programs that could potentially fit into the scope of an ATC.  “What I’m hearing from every vantage point is that we need a dynamic space for the next decade or so at least that can service the evolving nature of industry that would benefit from this, and obviously the end result, for our students,” Andrus said. “So, the limitation is notable in its current form.”  Tague said the current plans would have required swamp coolers to be used inside the facility, which would likely not be enough for the heavy machinery should they overheat.  Board member Carlos Guerrero, who was appointed to the board last week, said he visited the site and figured that the size of the project and the number of programs that could fit inside did not add up.  “I just recently drove past the site, and I wasn’t sure how adequate it would be, the space available, not just for the site itself, for the construction piece of it, but either for parking for our students,” Alonso said, agreeing with Guerrero that a larger facility is likely needed.  Andrus said he has been thinking about the ATC since he was appointed as interim president in July and has “some very strong ideas” but wants to discuss them with his colleagues before moving forward on anything.  “There is a belief that we won’t be delayed as long as we think,” Andrus said in reference to the current administration having “strong relationships with industry partners.”  He said the basic options at this point are to use the current site, find another appropriate off-campus location or find a spot at the college’s Valencia campus that would work.  “I am interested in having a collaborative discussion about what’s available on the Valencia campus, or any other area already owned by the district,” Andrus said. “But the idea of square footage, the idea of what the future holds in what industry believes is necessary for programmatic need, that’s a discussion we’re ready to have in earnest immediately.”  Andrus said the William S. Hart Union High School District would also be consulted on the plans for the ATC.  The next board of trustees meeting is set for Oct. 9.  The post COC to pay $10M for tech center site and plans  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.