A groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 7, 2021 to signify the construction of the Biotechnology Center of Excellence at Alamance Community College. Alamance Community College administrators, elected officials, and industry leaders attended the ceremony. Attendees donned construction helmets and silver-plated shovels. Construction is set to start by the end of June 2021, with a target completion date in Fall 2022.

Update 2020-11-04 ACC Center for Excellence Bond Projecttation-8-4-20.pdf">Biotechnology Center of Excellence and Parking presented by Mr. Chris Brasier
Chief Practice and Culture Officer | Design
Director for Clark Nexsen

Biotechnology Center of Excellence and Parking presented by Mr. Chris Brasier
Chief Practice and Culture Officer | Design
Director for Clark Nexsen

The College continues to work virtually with Clark Nexsen on the design development phase of the project. The project continues to remain on schedule with the expectation that the design development package will be ready to submit to State Construction mid-June. The design team will soon be in contact with the City of Graham to review building and site design and discuss the permitting process. The College is also working through ESP Surveyors to combine the parcel where the building will sit with the main parcel of the campus.

At the May 11 ACC Board of Trustees were presented with an updated Biotechnology Center of Excellence presentation with an updated timeline and architectural drawings by the Design Team.

Design Team Biotechnology Presentation 5-11-20

The following presentation will be recommended to the ACC Board of Trustees at their meeting on Monday, 6-8-2020

2020-06-03 ACC BG Commiittee Meeting - COE Visuals

The College continues to work virtually with Clark Nexsen on the design development phase of the project. The project continues to remain on schedule with the expectation that the design development package will be ready to submit to State Construction mid-June. The design team will soon be in contact with the City of Graham to review building and site design and discuss the permitting process. The College is also working through ESP Surveyors to combine the parcel where the building will sit with the main parcel of the campus.

At the May 11 ACC Board of Trustees were presented with an updated Biotechnology Center of Excellence presentation with an updated timeline and architectural drawings by the Design Team.

Design Team Biotechnology Presentation 5-11-20

At the February 27 Oversight Committee Meeting, Clark Nexsen presented an updated timeline summary, guiding principles, program summary, and two schematic drawings of the Biotechnology Center of Excellence. As of 4-28, the schematic designs for the Center of Excellence have been submitted and are under review at the State Office of Construction.

Clark Nexsen Presentation 2-26-20

In December, the State Board of Community Colleges also approved amending the two projects and merging into one project.  The State Construction Office is finalizing contract documents for design services as well as CM pre-construction services.  We expect to have these contracts finalized early January.

On December 17^th, College leadership met with Clark Nexsen to review the next steps in the process including schematic design schedule and design progress.  Plans were made for the next COE Stakeholder meeting to be held on January 15^th.  At that meeting, the group will work to refine program scope and detail, review initial floor plans and typical classroom/lab concepts.  In addition, site visits to peer institutions and labs will be scheduled as well as program meetings with faculty.

In late January, requests for proposals (RFP’s) will be issued for site survey and geotechnical work.

The Center of Excellence and Parking Deck projects are now combined into one project. The advanced planning phase was finished by the design firm and has been sent to the North Carolina State Office of Construction. Once approved by the NC Office of State Construction, the project will be presented to the Board of Trustees in January. ACC expects that the earliest possible time to receive construction documents is December 2020-February 2021. Therefore, ACC has determined that a January-February 2021 bond issuance is most likely at this time.

Clark Nexsen Presentation for the Biotechnology Center for Excellence to the Board of Commissioners 

The planning process for the Biotechnology Center of Excellence project has involved several different groups with internal stakeholders meeting with the design firm and construction manager (CMR model). The Board of Trustees Building & Grounds Committee continues to have immediate oversight of the projects.

The design firm has communicated that more time should be spent on the Advanced Planning stage of the project and indicated that the original completion date of August 2021 is no longer realistic. Mr. Brasier said his firm recommends adjusting the schedules for the projects to include an eight-week advanced planning phase and a two-to-three-month  period for review of the design and documentation by the State Construction Office and ACC. More time invested on the front-end in advanced planning is expected to increase efficiency and quality in the construction process, but will result in a 3-6 month push back for the project completion date.

Per the usual process, three candidates for the CMR role have been passed to the State Board of Community Colleges for review. The highest ranked choice, Christman Company, is a large company with a national reputation and experience in various projects, including cancer centers, educational buildings, science labs, and hospitals. Clark Nexsen, the hired architectural firm, has worked on projects such as the Hunt Library at NC State University and Wake Tech’s North Campus.

There is current discussion about the optimal size for both the parking deck and the Center of Excellence as a larger parking deck means a smaller Center of Excellence. There are three options that staff will be considering. The balance is to create needed parking while building a large enough center with enough training/classroom space.

The college is also exploring a $2.4 million federal economic development grant, it will fund an additional 5,000 square feet of building space.

The Christman Company has been selected as the Construction Manager at Risk firm for the Parking Deck and the Center of Excellence. The Design Team will be leading their first external stakeholder meeting for the Center of Excellence on September 6 at 11:30am.

At their Aug. 12th meeting, the Board of Trustees accepted the recommendation of the Building & Grounds Committee to select a Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) firm for their Center of Excellence and Parking Deck projects. The top three candidates were ranked and all three are submitted to the NC School Construction Office, which will negotiate their contract with ACC. The three construction firms, ranked in preferential order, are:
1. Christman Company
2. Vannoy Construction
3. Rodgers Builders, Inc.

On June 12, the Board of Trustees approved Clark Nexsen as the design firm for both the Center of Excellence and the Parking Deck. At this time, Alamance Community College is working with the State Construction Office in finalizing a formal contract with the firm.

Alamance Community College received 27 proposals for design services for the Center of Excellence and the Parking Deck. The ACC Building and Grounds Committee reviewed applications and will submit their top recommendations to the Board of Trustees. At the June 10, 2019 meeting, the Board will review, vote, and announce their choice(s). The North Carolina State Construction Office will then negotiate contracts with the designer(s).