The first day of school can be stressful: buying the right books, finding your classes, and most importantly, getting to school on time. For most people that includes getting a parking space that is not a mile off campus on some street in the middle of nowhere.

Those problems may soon be over or at least greatly reduced. The East Campus Improvement project is in full swing and the parking structure and roadwork is scheduled to be completed in March, and the new Allied Health building is schedule to be completed by August.

The temporary east entrance to campus will be closed and the original Mesa College Drive entrance will be reopened with a new four-way lighted intersection and a more stately entrance that a campus of Mesa’s size deserves.

Not only is Mesa getting a new five-story parking garage with CCTV (closed circuit television) surveillance cameras, there will be emergency phones located at all levels, gates to the entrances, and most importantly a new modernistic police station located on the North face of the parking structure on Mesa Drive.

The principal architect, Paul Schroeder, and architect Douglas Paterson of Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker Architects, who are responsible for the East Campus Improvement Project are very optimistic about the future developments at Mesa.

With the effect of adding an additional 1,200 parking spaces, the non-confluent layout will get the vehicles off the main arteries as quickly as possible and into new parking lots and structures by reducing the bottleneck effect.

The new parking structure will also improve exiting off campus through a designated egress that will not impede incoming traffic.

Schroeder and Paterson have also incorporated a greener, more earth conscious construction, using materials and methods that follow the LEAD (Leadership, Environmental Energy Design) National Standard.

PVP (Photovoltaic Panels), a cool roof system that reflects the light and heat while converting it into energy, will be placed on the top floor of the parking structure above the cars. This will not only shade the vehicles from the harmful radiation of the sun, but will also provide a strong enough energy source that will help power the new police station and the new Allied Health Building.

Other green building techniques include: waterless urinals, recyclable carpet and tiles, low VOC paint and the use of open space and natural lighting as much as possible.

A Mesa Master Plan has been approved to provide all new building structures with a common design, theme and unity. This is very important regardless of a campus’ functionality.

An aesthetic principal has to be present in order to allow each building to tie into the next, whether it be a certain type of exterior stone used or a sequential pattern of proportions. This unity and seemingly gentle flow of design elements will provide a complete and formidable campus.

It’s a win-win situation for everyone. The faculty gets to work at a more impressive and ergonomic campus, the students get easier access to the facilities with a higher level of security, and the good people of San Diego get to see their tax dollars hard at work.