American River College’s Davies Hall replacement is not expected to be complete until 2029-2030, according to Katilyn Collignon, ARC’s public information officer.
“We continue to explore all possible funding options to replace Davies Hall, but the type and availability of funding will greatly impact the timeline,” said Collignon in an email.
A day before its closure on Sept. 7, The Division of State Architects or DSA recommended closing Davies Hall due to concerns over the structural integrity of the lift slab. A lift slab is a construction method in which concrete slabs would be formed and praised by hydraulic jacks to the preferred height.
This comes after earlier statements on the construction of a new portable village in the stadium lot on ARC’s campus. Construction was meant to be completed in time for this semester, yet difficulties in connecting with vendors, utilities, and other needed pre-work. Collignon did not give a precise date for completion.The new Portable Village three is currently being managed by a team under the Student Success Council that will provide input and allocate the space needed for PV3. The Student Success Council was reached for comment yet was unable to provide any response by the publishing of this article.
“DSA was doing a review of the lift slab construction design and discovered that during demolition on other California college campuses,” wrote Shane Spencer, digital communications specialist for the public information office, in a newsletter for ARC Inside. ARC Insider is a newsletter managed by members of the public information office. “there were at least two occasions where the lift slab system experienced failure and progressive collapse of the building,”
No other buildings at ARC are at risk according to the same ARC Inside newsletter. No other major failures have taken place at any other California college campuses, but safety risks were considered too great to keep Davies Hall open, according to the newsletter.
