Students, faculty and staff gathered in front of the site of the demolished PH3 building Friday for a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the $105 million Hall of Science.
According to campus officials, construction of the Hall of Science, projected to be completed by 2011, will be the “largest single capital building project” in Cal State University Long Beach’s history.
The new building will provide the college of natural sciences and mathematics with 22 research laboratories, 31 teaching laboratories, a science learning center and several lecture halls.
Included in these facilities will be a marine biology lab, a rooftop greenhouse and a rooftop observatory.
President F. King Alexander said campus officials began planning for such a facility 20 years ago and, with the United States falling behind in technological advancement, he said construction of the new facilities to educate students in “the most vital field in our nation today” could not be more crucial.
Alexander said the new facilities will be a place for students to conduct independent research alongside faculty and to learn new methods of science education, and willdraw in students from other disciplines with its high-tech facilities.
Alexander said two-thirds of all CSULB students will take at least one class in the forthcoming facility.
To give an idea of the size of the Hall of Science, officials said it will be 76 percent larger than the Molecular and Life Sciences Center.
PH3, which President Alexander referred to as an “old bunker,” was demolished over the summer, and Hunt Construction Group, Inc. began digging a 20-30 foot hole for the building’s foundation on Monday.