Chico State issued temporary occupancy for new Behavioral and Social Sciences building

CHICO — After more than a year under construction, Chico State’s new Behavioral and Social Sciences building is on track to open to the student body.

Originally slated to open in time for the fall semester, some setbacks delayed the project. Cal Fire’s Office of the State Fire Marshal initially expressed concerns over certain unspecified safety measures that still needed to be worked out in the construction.

The building was granted a conditional temporary certificate of occupancy earlier this week, provided certain criteria were met. Deputy State Fire Marshal III Kara Garrett said staff was still working with the Chico Fire Department and the university regarding the matter.

“A conditional Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, permitted by 2019 (California Building Code) 111.3, was issued on August 15 by the Office of the State Fire Marshal staff for all portions of the building with the direction that all exits remain unobstructed, all fire sprinkler systems and fire alarm systems remain in service and fire rated doors are not propped open,” Garrett said.

Faculty moving into the building have been awaiting the completion of the project, and with school starting Monday, staff was finally granted permission to begin the move, though it hasn’t yet been specified when classes will be taught in the building.

Chico State Professor Mark Stemen was originally in Butte Hall and said those moving into the new building such as himself were asked to have their belongings packed and ready by the end of the recent spring semester. Many of those belongings were moved into the new building, but then the building was sealed off for part of the summer.

“We’re not able to move in quite yet,” Stemen said. “They’re still working out the last of the kinks. Some of the faculty are going to be in a pinch, but we’re resilient. It’s not like we’re going to strike on the first day. We’re going to be fine, and we’re going to figure it out.”

Stemen said he was in his office on Thursday at the new building.

When speaking about the move-in, Stemen said his department — the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences — had done a good job communicating about the ups and downs of construction.

Dean Ryan Patton sent updates to the staff throughout the construction. As of Monday, the staff was informed that it would have access to the building by the end of the week. Patton noted that telecommunication services were delayed throughout the project and that hardware still needed to be installed and conduct testing would need to be done. He added that staff members who use laptops without adaptors should let the department know ahead of time as wireless connectivity would not be up and running by the time staff could enter the building.

On Thursday, the cement around the building was being powerwashed as some faculty members and students stopped to admire the new structure. The building is located where the old physical science building once stood on the south side of Big Chico Creek.

Specifications

When the school broke ground on the project in 2023, it was announced that the structure would be a net zero building, meaning it relies on renewable energy to meet all or more of its power needs.

Chico State Public Relations Manager Andrew Staples said there is no clear date yet on when classes will be taught at the building, but the school is getting closer.

“The next step is networking and telecommunications equipment needs to be installed after our tech folks can go in and start outfitting classrooms with what they need,” Staples said. “Then we can go from there.”

Staples said many of the delays on construction were related to supply chain issues.

“That’s just the nature of such a huge project,” Staples said. “But we’re going to be pretty close to our target date.”

The cost of the project came out to about $98 million and the building totals at 94,000 square feet. Nine departments are expected to move into the 22-classroom building.

Staples said the building also features labs, faculty offices, a large lecture hall, an arboretum, a conference room and a coffee shop.

“We’re really excited,” Staples said. “I think it is going to become a hotspot on campus and revitalize the east side of campus. It was a long road to get here and new we’re putting in the finishing touches. Everyone is very eager for the building to open.”