Alamo Colleges’ Building at St. Philip’s College
Receives Construction Award

Alamo Colleges’ Building at St. Philip’s College Receives Construction Award

The St. Philip’s College Center for Learning Resources, Welcome Center and Center for Health Professions building received an “Excellence in Construction” award from the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), South Texas Chapter, at the chapter’s awards banquet on October 7.

The 215,000 square foot complex, a part of the Alamo Colleges’ $450 million Capital Improvement Program (CIP), was designed by Saldana and Associates and Pfluger Architects Associates.  Project Manager during construction was 3D/Parsons Foster and the Construction Manager was Skanska USA. The building, which opened in August, is the fifth of the Alamo Colleges’ CIP construction to receive industry awards.

According to Steven Schulz, president of the South Texas Chapter of the ABC, the Excellence in Construction competition is designed to recognize outstanding projects in various categories, using a point based system to assist in the comparisons.  The judging criteria include:  overall presentation and conformance to entry requirements; contracted scope (type of construction, size of project contract value, length of project and percentage of labor self-performed);  and a project narrative indicating why the project is special and why it qualifies for an award.

“St. Philip’s College is truly appreciative to Bexar County taxpayers for investing in our community and our students with $67.5 million in building construction at our college,” said St. Philip’s College President  Dr. Adena Williams Loston. “We now have beautiful, state-of-the art facilities that bring pride to our students and provide them with an incredible atmosphere and motivation for learning that can lead to productive lives and successful careers.  With these facilities, there is no discernable difference between what students will experience in our teaching laboratories and what is in the work place,” said Dr. Loston.

“San Antonio companies do outstanding work,” said Schulz, “and we are proud to recognize and honor their commitment to excellence.”   Winners at the local level are eligible to compete at the national level.  Sixteen  local projects have won the national award since 1993.  

The Center for Healthcare Professions includes state of the art instructional facilities that support hands-on and realistic simulations based training for nursing,  histology, medical laboratory, radiography, sonography, occupational therapy, physical therapy, surgical technology, respiratory care, invasive cardiovascular technology, health information technology and kinesiology.  The facility includes complete radiology systems, two surgical suites, four specialty simulation rooms, high fidelity simulators (training mannequins) with supporting AV technology, an 8-bed inpatient hospital unit with nurses’ station and a 12-bed skills lab for training nurses.    

The Center for Learning Resources (CLR) provides resources and services supporting academic programs. The CLR houses the library and accompanying services along with the SPC Historical Archives and Media Services. The CLR includes classrooms, student computers, assistive technology devices, student lounge areas, collaborative work areas, quiet study spaces and a large reading room. Research needs are met with access to tens of thousands of books and multimedia, reference materials and an array of media resources, as well as access to over one hundred general- and-subject-specific subscription databases that contain thousands of journal, magazine, and newspaper articles.  
The Welcome Center provides one location for student service needs, including admissions, assessment, counseling, financial aid, bursar’s services, G.E.D. testing, veteran’s affairs, international student resources, registration and graduation.

The Veterinary Technology Center at Palo Alto College received the same award in 2007.