Students at ’s Annandale campus now have access to a new, 90,000-square foot Student Services Building.
The Student Services Building houses the departments of Admissions and Registration, Counseling and Academic Advising, Financial Aid, Veterans’ Affairs, the Dean of Students and the Campus Business Manager. Other services offered at the new building include an expanded Testing Center, the International Center, the Career and Transfer Center, the Pathway to the Baccalaureate program, Parking and I.D. Card Services and the Campus Business Office.
“It consolidates all the functions that the students need,” said Bill Chamberlin, the college’s vice president of administration and facilities director. “It’s a one-stop shop.”
The building also features a Barnes & Noble bookstore with a 140-seat Starbucks. The bookstore itself is more than three times larger than the store at the previous location and offers expanded hours and services. Other amenities at the new Student Services Building include a 110-seat amphitheater, five 50-seat classrooms, three 35-seat classrooms and multiple student study areas spread throughout the building.
Stylistically, the building is different than other buildings on the Annandale campus and the entire community college system, notably the large atrium, Chamberlin said. The Starbucks has proven especially popular with students, he said.
The construction contract was awarded in May 2009, and the building was completed on July 15, college spokesman Dustin Sternbeck said in an e-mail. The total project budget was approximately $34 million; however, only $30 million has been spent to date, Sternbeck said.
The new structure is the community college system’s first LEED certifiable building. Environmentally-friendly design aspects include water-efficient landscaping with irrigation systems to reduce water consumption by more than 90 percent and sunshades over windows that block the sun coming through windows in the summer, keeping rooms cooler, while allowing more sun to fill the rooms in the winter, generating heat.
Energy-efficient measures include occupancy sensors in rooms and high-efficiency hot water and HVAC systems. Equipment is also in place to monitor carbon dioxide levels. If levels grow too high, fresh air from outside is pumped inside the building.
The hours for the Student Services, Business and Counseling offices are 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The Barnes & Noble is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
