Cal Poly will receive bids from prospective contractors for the Vista Grande replacement March 22.
The plan to replace Vista Grande was announced by Cal Poly in Spring 2016, scheduling the grand opening for Fall 2018. The new complex will be the closest dining option for the Sierra Madre and Yosemite residence hall residents, as well as Student Housing South, slated to open in 2018.
The lot that once housed Vista Grande on the corner of Grand Avenue and Deer Road has remained vacant since the demolition of the building concluded in Fall 2016. Cal Poly, put out a bid to contractors for the complex’s construction while waiting to get the project approved by the state and the California State University (CSU) system.
Cal Poly Corporation Executive Director Lorlie Leetham addressed a number of questions raised by Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) directors during the ASI board meeting Feb. 8. Among these questions was a request for clarification on the bidding process by College of Liberal Arts Director
Cyrus Ebadat.
“[We] have been waiting for the construction documents to be finished and receive all the approvals through the state, the CSU, etc. and to be issued as out to bid for contractors to bid on the project,” Leetham said. “It’s a Request for Proposal for major capital projects. So, that’s what out to bid means.”
In addition, College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences ASI Director Roman Waskiewicz inquired into what student involvement in the project has looked like and will look like in the future.
“We used students to help develop some of the ideas around the original concepts and design,” Leetham said. “But it’s going to be survey and focus groups going forward.”
Contractors will submit bids for the project before 3 p.m. on March 22, 2017 to Cal Poly Strategic Business Services. At this time, bids can be viewed by the public at Building 70, Room 110.
According to the project’s bidding and contract requirements, the current estimate cost for construction is $22 million. Cal Poly Corporation stated that the Vista Grande replacement will be its largest capital project
to date.
Cal Poly Facilities Planning and Capital Projects expects construction to begin on April 1 ,2017 and be completed by Nov. 30, 2018. This aligns with the university’s goal of opening the new dining complex during Fall 2018. The project’s contract requirements stipulate that the contractor may be charged $1,000 in damages for every day the project is delayed.
If all goes according to plan, construction of Vista Grande’s replacement will conclude 837 days after its demolition began Aug. 15, 2016.