OCC breaks ground on new arts center

Amy R. Spurgeon

ORANGE COAST COLLEGE -- Nearly 100 faculty and staff members looked on

during a midmorning gathering Thursday as chunks of earth were

ceremoniously shoveled to signify the beginning of construction of a

$15-million, state-funded arts center on campus.

“I love it,” beamed Ted Baker, the retired fine arts dean, after

shoveling some dirt during the groundbreaking ceremony.

Baker said it has been 14 years since he first envisioned the arts

center. He wanted to create a state-of-the-art facility that would

encompass all areas of fine arts.

Photography, sculpture, drawing, painting, and film will be some of

the disciplines offered at the center after it’s completed.

Within two years, the 2.5-acre site on the southern boundary of campus

will be home to a stunning 70,000-square-foot, three-story facility.

Not since 1994, when the towering technology center was built, has the

52-year-old campus welcomed such a major addition.

Thursday’s ceremony was brief compared to the countless hours and

meticulous planning college and state officials and architects have spent

planning over the past decade.

OCC has also undertaken a $2-million fund-raising campaign to build

the arts pavilion, a companion building to the arts center.

The 8,500-square-foot arts pavilion will include an art gallery, a

young artists’ gallery and a cafe. Construction on the pavilion will

begin following the completion of the arts center.

“When it opens its doors, it will be one of the finest community

college art buildings in the nation,” said Jim Carnett, an OCC spokesman.

“We’ll be back in two years to do the grand opening.”

Some students peeked at the ceremony between classes.

“I think it’s great that the students are getting a new arts center,”

said business major Sandra Torres, 19, of Costa Mesa. “I’ll have

graduated before its finished, but I’ll definitely come back to see it.”