Santa Rosa Junior College Lindley Center for STEM Education

As part of the Measure H Bond Program, Harris & Associates is providing construction management and labor compliance services for the new Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) STEM building.

As the most expensive project on the measure at $74.2 million, the 100,000-square foot Lindley Center for STEM Education building will replace the College’s existing science and mathematics buildings. The new facility consists of a three-story, steel-framed structure with an approximate footprint of 32,000 square feet.

When completed, the building will provide a productive learning environment to SRJC’s STEM program students with majors falling under biological sciences, chemistry and physics, earth and space sciences, engineering and applied technology, mathematics, and MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement). It will also house the planetarium.

While the College does not require certification, the building is designed to meet, at a minimum, LEED Silver requirements. Harris has led the management of this state-matching funded project, including selection of the design team. Through the shared governance process, Harris was successful in managing design to achieve a result that satisfied the users’ program needs and maintained DSA submittal milestones.

The project broke ground in spring 2020 and construction is underway. Hear from Harris’ Executive Project Manager, and Angela Vargas, Project Manager, at the Lindley Center for STEM Education virtual groundbreaking.

“The next three years will be an exciting time as we work towards bringing a new, innovative science center to SRJC.” –Victor Tam, STEM Dean, Santa Rosa Junior College

Core Elements

The Lindley Center for STEM Education includes:

• Chemistry, physics, architecture, and engineering and applied sciences laboratories
• Math classrooms
• Computer labs
• Innovation center
• Large lecture rooms
• Faculty staff offices
• Student support and lounge areas
• Exterior areas

Beyond the Blueprints

The construction team is embracing a collaborative and inclusive strategy to ensure a high-quality construction experience and working environment. This aligns with SRJC’S commitment to offering a dynamic multicultural learning community.

The biggest challenge of the project to date has been operating safely amid extreme events, such as the Northern California wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the nature of the site soils composition, the team has also encountered site conditions not acknowledged in programming guidelines and specifications. 

Despite these obstacles and other daily challenges, the construction team met its first two milestones of abatement and demolition on schedule and on budget in 2020. The team also captured project progress with cameras on site.