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TCC coming to Downtown

Downtown Trinity River Vision Modern Architecture Construction Photographs Tarrant County

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#101 safly

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 12:21 AM

" They don't EXPECT to use any loans or..."

rotflmao.gif rotflmao.gif

I like how they CAREFULLY word their "calculating" answers.

GO GET EM BILLY BOY!!!

$$$ just to clean her up? Like they can't just find some needy students who would jump at the chance to pil e lead for a student work grant or loan. COME ON here. biggrin.gif

And to think that those poor old smokestacks could have still been standin today.

Tall, mighty, and proud. sleep.gif
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#102 gdvanc

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 12:39 AM

I know what let's do... Let's start a thread listing projects with initial cost projections followed by revised projections and final cost (as if that's ever final).

Sort of like:

TCC downtown campus:
$25 - $75 million - mm/yyyy - comments
$100 million - mm/yyyy - comments
$134 million - mm/yyyy - comments
$234 million - mm/yyyy - comments


There's the Omni hotel, Mercado, what else? Yeah, let's do this.


I see those numbers and I have to ask myself: What is the value of the expected benefit from the project? $500 million? more? less? Were we originally expecting to get $500 million in value for a $25 - $75 million investment? I mean, that's great. Is there a cost somewhere where we start to think that maybe the price is too high for what we're getting, or is it one of those things that is worth doing no matter how expensive it gets? That sometimes happens when it's just tax dollars we're spending.

I'm not against the project. I think it's kind of cool. [Well, I do wish a taller and more taxable development were going there; is the entire bluff to be tax-exempt?] However, it would be nice to think that TCC has bothered to throw together some reasonable valuation of the benefits of the project and would be willing to consider other options should the marginal benefit/marginal cost of this project become less attractive than that of alternative projects.

#103 safly

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 12:46 AM

Hey, I'm up for it.

As long as you show me how to use that cross out line thing amajiggy? Where is that key? dry.gif
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#104 gdvanc

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 01:02 AM

Looks like this:

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(right after the underline thing amajiggy)

#105 hooked

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 07:45 AM

QUOTE(gdvanc @ Apr 4 2006, 02:02 AM) View Post
(right after the underline thing amajiggy)


I wish you guys would cool it with all the technical jargon.

#106 cjyoung

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 09:04 AM

QUOTE(JBB @ Apr 3 2006, 09:49 AM) View Post

I'm surprised no one has posted this column from yesterday's S-T. Sounds like the cost of the new TCC campus has gone up just a tad. But, the article also says that phase 1 construction starts this summer.

TCC rebuffs request for info
By DAVE LIEBER
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

Bill Wright wanted to know the projected cost of the new Tarrant County College downtown campus.

He attended a TCC District board meeting in January and heard the estimate for the project increase by $100 million, to $234 million -- not including the $38 million spent to buy the land. So after the meeting, he asked TCC officials to tell him the cost of an 18-acre tract owned by TXU Energy that TCC has an option to buy.

The land, not far from the landmark smokestacks that were toppled as part of the project last year, is contaminated by hazardous waste from an old lead smelting plant and a metals recycling business.

TCC officials wouldn't give Wright any figures. They said the contract numbers were confidential.

They were wrong.

Wright believed that the numbers he wanted were public information because TCC had signed a contract with TXU. Once a contract is signed with a government, it is supposed to be public. Frustrated, Wright contacted The Watchdog.

Wright's question is legitimate, especially when considering the rising costs for the downtown campus.

Several years ago, before TCC officials had a firm plan on what site they planned to build on, officials said the cost would be between $25 million and $75 million, according to a previous report in the Star-Telegram archives.

The figure was next reported to be $100 million. Then, at the 2004 official announcement of the Trinity River project, the figure increased to $134 million, not including the land.

At the January meeting which Wright attended, the new number offered by TCC officials is $234 million, in 2008 dollars.

The campus will be on both sides of the West Fork of the Trinity River, near the Tarrant County Courthouse.

The project, which could include a skywalk across the river and a rooftop reflecting pool, is a key component of the proposed Trinity River Vision project to revitalize land along the river. U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, has called TCC's involvement in the project "the quintessential Fort Worth deal."

TCC officials say the announced costs of the new campus are growing because original estimates did not include architectural and engineering fees, certain construction costs -- such as making the buildings more energy-efficient -- insurance, and construction program management costs.

In addition, Rudy Gonzales, TCC's vice chancellor for financial services, said labor and material costs are expected to rise because of the demand created by efforts to repair damage along the Gulf Coast from last year's hurricanes.

Wright, a 75-year-old Ridglea investment counselor, monitors TCC and its spending habits. It's a lonely fight. Attending monthly TCC board meetings is not on anybody's list of the top 10 things to do in Tarrant County.

Yet, with four regional campuses, a $230 million annual operating budget and a tax rate that takes almost 14 cents from Tarrant County property owners for every $100 of assessed property value, the college district has a big impact on taxpayers.

The TXU site would allow TCC to increase its downtown campus to 55 acres. Construction of a portion of the first phase of the campus is expected to begin this summer, with an opening projected for fall 2008. The TXU land is not included in this phase.

The Watchdog filed a written request under the Texas Public Information Act for a copy of the options contract that Wright could not get. Within days, TCC officials made the document available.

The contract shows that TCC paid TXU $1,000 for a 20-year option to buy the land. The contract lists the purchase price as $100 -- about $5.55 an acre. The option to buy expires in 2024.

"That's not very much," a surprised Wright said when The Watchdog shared the low price with him last week.

The price is low, but not a complete surprise when taking into consideration the land's condition.

Wright predicted that a complete environmental cleanup at the site would be more expensive than TCC officials may anticipate, further driving up construction costs.

When I asked TCC officials why they didn't give Wright the contract information when he asked, they said they didn't believe that it was public information.

"We're trying to work with TXU with all those issues, and we wanted to stay in a good working relationship with TXU, so we had to keep both sides happy, too," Gonzales said.

Gonzales and Provost David Wells said they later asked their lawyer whether the option contract was public information. They said the lawyer replied that it was public; the next person who made an official open records request could get the contract.

Asked several times why they didn't contact Wright and tell him this, TCC officials declined to answer.

Wright said, "They don't want to give me anything because I've been such a thorn in their side."

A portion of the 18 acres is contaminated with what state environmental officials call volatile organic compounds in the soil and groundwater. Among those listed in state environmental reports reviewed by The Watchdog are arsenic, chromium, vinyl chloride and lead. Mercury has been found on the wall of an underground pit but not in groundwater, records show.

TXU has worked with the state for 14 years to monitor the site and make sure that no toxic materials are released into the Trinity River. The site has a groundwater extraction system that filters and cleans contaminated water, records show.

The latest monitoring report on file with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shows that nine of 14 monitoring wells on the site sampled in January 2005 found hazardous materials.

TXU spokesman Tom Kleckner said Friday that until and if the sale happens, the company will continue to monitor the site.

At first, TCC officials estimated in an interview with The Watchdog that they could clean up the site for about $2 million. But last week TCC officials corrected that estimate when they released to The Watchdog a written statement from Gene Murray, an environmental consultant who works with the college: "Our estimate of the cleanup of the site was in the neighborhood of $2 million, but Steve Kleypas [director of hazardous materials management for the college district] reminded me that it was a very rough estimate. ...

"Before the District actually exercises its option to acquire the property, we will need to do extensive environmental research so we understand clearly what our options are for re-use of the property, how it may be cleaned, to what standards -- residential or commercial, and what that real cost will be.

"At the end of the day, the Board may decide the risks or costs are greater than any value the land may have for us and elect not to exercise the option."

The college district has collected $140 million in taxes for the new campus since 2002, Gonzales said. The district does not expect to pay for any of the project using loans or bond money.

Meanwhile, Bill Wright, the district watchdog, says he is frustrated by his lonely quest to monitor TCC's spending. He says he is thinking of quitting.

News researchers Marcia Melton and Adam Barth contributed to this report.


They should start a athletic program and build a 18,000 seat arena and a 60,000 seat stadium. biggrin.gif

#107 JBB

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 09:08 AM

I'm glad you quoted that whole dang article. No one would ever have known what you were referring to.

saf, I don't think TCC was involved in the demolition of the smokestacks. The current owner of the land determined they were unsafe and was not interested in saving them.

#108 AndyN

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 09:19 AM

JBB, are you the Bill Wright mentioned in the article?
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#109 JBB

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 09:25 AM

No. I wish had time to be a watchdog for anything.

#110 cjyoung

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Posted 04 April 2006 - 09:36 AM

QUOTE(JBB @ Apr 4 2006, 10:08 AM) View Post

I'm glad you quoted that whole dang article. No one would ever have known what you were referring to.

saf, I don't think TCC was involved in the demolition of the smokestacks. The current owner of the land determined they were unsafe and was not interested in saving them.


rotflmao.gif tongue.gif

#111 Thurman52

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Posted 18 May 2006 - 05:46 AM

Construction trailers have begun to be assembled along Main St, behind the old power plant. I don't think they are clearly visable from Main St, but the Austin Contstruction Trailer is sitting at the base of the bride on the Westside of the street.

Progress I guess

#112 Thurman52

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Posted 04 June 2006 - 09:34 AM

From FW Business Prss

TCC prepares to let dirt fly in downtown Fort Worth
Aleshia Howe - June 05, 2006
More than two years of planning and promise will culminate in a single shovel of dirt turned at the future site of Tarrant County College’s downtown Fort Worth campus on June 10.
The groundbreaking, scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m., will jump-start construction on the sprawling campus positioned on 38 acres of land just south of the city’s courthouse.

Tarrant County College Provost David Wells said the pending groundbreaking is an exciting next step in the school’s ability to reach its mission and serve the educational needs of the community that supports it.

“The new campus provides us an opportunity to reduce some of the overcrowding occurring on existing campuses,” Wells said. “While we have a 20-year master plan in place for renovations and improvements on other campuses and even plans for new facilities in those other four locations, the significant population growth in Tarrant County will only mean increasing enrollments over time.”

The future campus will straddle the Trinity River east of the North Main Street Bridge. Plans call for two main campus buildings on both sides of the Trinity River with a sky bridge, running parallel with North Main Street Bridge, linking both buildings.

According to Wells, the campus will feature an updated nursing and allied health program building, a new academic program and many cutting-edge building designs.

“The coming together of several public agencies – college, city, county, water district, state and federal government – to pool or contribute resources to help us accomplish our educational vision for the good of the community reflects a partnership in which our students and taxpayers are winners,” Wells said.

Tarrant County College purchased 38 acres in downtown Fort Worth in 2004 for $38.37 million. The initial phase of the campus will include about 500,000 square feet. Developers of the project said they elected to design a campus that was flat so as not to obstruct the downtown skyline. Officials with Fort Worth architecture firm Gideon Toal, and Bing Thom Architects of Vancouver, B.C. are designing the development.

According to Tarrant County College statistics, about 80,000 people live and/or work in a three-mile radius of the new campus site. Its primary function will be to serve the booming downtown area.

Projected enrollment for the new campus is expected to be about 3,750, with those numbers reaching 10,000 in about seven years and college district enrollment reaching nearly 50,000.

Bill Lace, executive assistant to the chancellor, said an expanded presence for the continuing education and corporate training programs is important because the downtown campus will be the only one featuring dedicated space for the programs.

Lace said the potential of the continuing education classes at the new campus is great because of “the very large concentration of workers downtown.”

“Such a constituency does not exist at any of our other campuses,” he said.

Lace said the campus will be more than a college – it will be a cultural and educational resource to students, faculty and staff.

“As are all our campuses, this will be truly a ‘community’ college, serving not only students, but acting as a cultural and educational resource for those in the area,” Lace said.

Special guests at the groundbreaking will include U.S. Congresswoman Kay Granger and Mayor Mike Moncrief, as well as school officials.


#113 safly

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Posted 04 June 2006 - 10:49 AM

The more I think of this project with the TCC. The more I START to like it. Great fit anchoring the N DTFW. Will most likely become a wonderful opportunity for continuing education and training for NSide residents. Very easy to get to, and I like the idea of it pulling in the DTFW job markets need for higher education/training. Community college parking is ALWAYS a hassle, and this would be a GREAT benefit for the NSide resi's in that respect.

Hope they introduce DTFW with a wonderful musical education venue and symphony hall. And JC Athletic affiliation teams would be KILLER too. Not to mention the CULINARY ARTS!!!

What about housing and DORMS? Now that would be a GREAT idea to help attract more OUTSIDER/COMMUTER students from other counties, cities and states. GENIUS! I believe San Jac (San Jacinto JC) in H-town has a student housing program for one of their many campuses. Perhaps TCC could "consult" with their board members.

Now what's up with the SFe RR building and that UTA project? Still a FOR LEASE banner up. ? ? ? dry.gif
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#114 Now in Denton

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Posted 04 June 2006 - 11:21 AM


I love the idea im just worried sick about what the school will look like. So far TCC has only built big plain ugly box's. And the fact we have groundbreaking and no renderings to look at. unsure.gif

#115 safly

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Posted 04 June 2006 - 11:52 AM

I hope it is a mesh of limestone, steel, and glass. That's all.

Maybe TCC should allow a student program for those who want a years worth of FREE Education, in helping build this school. You know the lightstuff, like landscape and interior/ext design and construction, some electrical apprentice stuff. Get properly trained/supervised. Put in a minimum 30 hour work week, and cumulative 400 hours overall. Minimum wage pay of course. smile.gif

Cheap labor with a personal interest for the jobsite is good.

Whatever the design, just Keep it TEXAN.
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#116 Fort Worthology

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Posted 04 June 2006 - 12:19 PM

QUOTE(Now in Denton @ Jun 4 2006, 12:21 PM) View Post

I love the idea im just worried sick about what the school will look like. So far TCC has only built big plain ugly box's. And the fact we have groundbreaking and no renderings to look at. unsure.gif


Have I missed a change in plans, or aren't there tons of renderings of the project on the architect's site? You know, the whole partial underground/jutting from the cliff/glass pedestrian bridge across the river thing?

EDIT: Yeah, the Gideon Toal/Bing Thom design. Is this still what's planned?

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#117 RD Milhollin

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Posted 04 June 2006 - 12:25 PM

QUOTE(safly @ Jun 4 2006, 12:52 PM) View Post

I hope it is a mesh of limestone, steel, and glass. That's all.

Maybe TCC should allow a student program for those who want a years worth of FREE Education, in helping build this school. You know the lightstuff, like landscape and interior/ext design and construction, some electrical apprentice stuff. Get properly trained/supervised. Put in a minimum 30 hour work week, and cumulative 400 hours overall. Minimum wage pay of course. smile.gif

Cheap labor with a personal interest for the jobsite is good.

Whatever the design, just Keep it TEXAN.


I seem to remember that the downtown face of the campus is going to be "flat"; a plaza with fountains and stairs/escalators/elevators leading down to the core. That structure would extend north and emerge from the Trinity River bluff and cantilever across to the open space beyond, the lower TRV area. So I imagine (guess) that limestone paving and low walls would be a predominant material in the "downtown" part of the project and that glass and steel would be appropriate for the "bridge". Hopefully some way can be found to integrate the old TXU power plant (less the stacks) into the overall campus design. I still think that a natatorium could be sited inside the existing structure, but open gym space would work well if the weight of a large swimming pool could not be accomodated.

I am not sure the construction industry would take kindly (not to mention unions) to allowing "cheap labor" to take jobs away from the local economy. The construction business (contractors, subs, transport, materials, landscapers, etc.) are a big part of the local and regional economy, and many people's livelihoods depend on those good paying jobs. Having student volunteers MAINTAIN areas of the campus might be more in the line of your concept of "buying in". "Free" anything is a myth, everything has some price to someone. In this case you propose labor in direct exchange for hours in class. I would prefer the term "exchange" or something similar to "free" but that is just nitpicking, right?

This being a school, I have no problem expanding the construction trades program at the college (and at local high schools for that matter) and working with unions and conractors to arrange for internships / hands-on training at real projects in the region.

#118 ghughes

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Posted 04 June 2006 - 10:01 PM

Still, not a lot of detail when it comes to renderings. Any better sources?

#119 Fort Worthology

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Posted 05 June 2006 - 08:21 AM

Found some more on Bing Thom's site:

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#120 safly

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Posted 05 June 2006 - 04:33 PM

(Crossing fingers)

Hope they introduce some interior waterfall/way system throughout the campus. Using the TR water.

Just take a look at USAA's corporate campus in SA for some WONDERFUL examples. Best lobby I have ever seen in Texas.


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#121 Now in Denton

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Posted 06 June 2006 - 10:44 AM

[quote name='Atomic Glee' date='Jun 4 2006, 01:19 PM' post='26356']
[quote name='Now in Denton' post='26352' date='Jun 4 2006, 12:21 PM']
I love the idea im just worried sick about what the school will look like. So far TCC has only built big plain ugly box's. And the fact we have groundbreaking and no renderings to look at. unsure.gif
[/quote]

Thanks Atomic Glee but the renderings look like thier making a remake of the movie Logans Run ! tongue.gif

#122 Thurman52

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Posted 07 June 2006 - 06:55 PM

Some more renderings / model from TCC's website

http://www.tccd.edu/...ey=664&menu=5&/

#123 RD Milhollin

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Posted 07 June 2006 - 09:26 PM

QUOTE(Thurman52 @ Jun 7 2006, 07:55 PM) View Post

Some more renderings / model from TCC's website

http://www.tccd.edu/...ey=664&menu=5&/


Hmmm, these newer renderings (cost estimates from March 2006) show the campus to be a lot less FLAT than was originally envisioned. I will be very interested in seeing some real plans and not some fuzzy more-or-less renderings.



#124 David Love

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Posted 11 June 2006 - 10:54 AM

Breaking newsBy SCOTT STREATER
STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

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Its critics have questioned the hefty $274 million price tag.

But a parade of prominent leaders at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new campus Saturday praised the project not only for its contribution to local education but also for its role in the revitalization of the area between downtown and the Stockyards.

"Not only is this a groundbreaking moment for the Tarrant County College, it's a groundbreaking moment for the city of Fort Worth," said Mayor Mike Moncrief. "Today we celebrate the beginning of a renaissance, a renaissance that will forever transform the area north of downtown."

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Fort Worth, also praised the planned campus.

"This facility, I predict, will become one of Fort Worth's landmarks," Granger said. "When people point out the wonderful things about Fort Worth, one of the things they'll point to is the downtown campus of Tarrant County College."

Saturday's groundbreaking covers the first phase of the new campus, which will begin construction this month, most likely with the demolition of structures on the north side of the riverbank, said David Wells, Tarrant County College provost.

The campus, which will sit just east of the Main Street bridge, is projected to open in fall 2008.

The first phase will add 400,000 square feet of space -- enough for 3,500 new students. The second phase, depending on demand, would enlarge the campus to 746,000 square feet by 2023.

Saturday's groundbreaking took on the atmosphere of a carnival, with a huge white circus tent, a clown, face-painting and lots of free baseball caps. Buses ferried people all morning from the LaGrave Field parking lot to the tent near the Main Street bridge. Chancellor Leonardo de la Garza called the ceremony a "family festival" for the "Tarrant County College family."

More than 200 people attended, most of whom appeared to be college district and city officials, or architects and engineers associated with the project and their families.

At least one Tarrant County College student attended the ceremony.

Rachel Starkey, 19, who just completed her freshman year at the college's south campus in Fort Worth off Interstate 20, said she would have loved to attend classes at the downtown campus.

"I know a lot of people who don't want to drive to the south campus," said Starkey, who will attend Texas A&M University in the fall. "This [new campus] will be so easy to get to."

Public leaders Saturday appeared most excited about the new campus' potential economic impact.

The campus project is separate from the $435 million Trinity Uptown project, which promises to bring more than $1 billion in new development to the area north of downtown.

But it's hard not to envision the new campus among the rows of upscale town homes, office towers and restaurants that are expected to flock to the area after Trinity Uptown is completed in about 10 years. And the new campus will serve as the unofficial entrance from downtown into the Trinity Uptown area.

The campus will stretch across the Trinity River just east of the Main Street bridge, with classrooms overlooking the water on the north and south banks of the river. Photos of the project model show pools of water flowing from the downtown side of the campus into the river, creating a waterfall effect. A walkway will cross the river."This dramatic architecture, which we're going to enjoy for years and years and years, I think also is part of what sets the tone of the future," Granger said, "and this campus is the future of this community."

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Joe Jernigan, left, and Archie Bailey look at a photo of the model for the new downtown Tarrant County College campus at the groundbreaking Saturday. Construction is set to begin this month.

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#125 AndyN

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Posted 17 July 2006 - 05:36 PM

Construction trailers and worker parking area set up and ready to go:


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The security guard tells me that they have started drilling some piers, but nothing major/noticeable yet.
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#126 John T Roberts

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Posted 17 July 2006 - 07:54 PM

To me, drilling piers is noticeable if I'm driving by when they are doing it!

#127 vjackson

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Posted 15 November 2006 - 08:23 AM

TCC makes plans for dramatic downtown campus
MITCHELL SCHNURMAN
In My Opinion

Concerns have been raised that the walkway, which is vital to the design, could weaken the levees.

Take a look at the final design of the new Tarrant County College campus, and you see more than another Fort Worth landmark.

The collection of angled, rectangular buildings seems to point and pull to the Trinity River, magnetically drawn to the water and a spectacular, two-tiered walking bridge that links the city's central business district with the near north side.

Literally and metaphorically, the community college aims to connect Fort Worth's most affluent residents with some of its most impoverished. And it opens the city's urban core to the inspiring nature surrounding the Trinity.

"This college is extending a hand across the river," says Bing Thom, the Vancouver architect who designed the project with Gideon Toal of Fort Worth.

The design has been at least three years in the making, and construction begins on the buildings this month. Thom completed the design recently, and it's being shown to local leaders and the public. The reviews are good.

"The word stunning comes to mind," says Louise Appleman, a TCC trustee since 1988. "It's so unique and so totally different from anything in Fort Worth. It's going to be a whole new era for a community college."

If it can just get built.

The design may be finished and the money in hand, but the Army Corps of Engineers has yet to sign off on a key part of the plan.

Without that approval, the design may have to be altered significantly, and it's possible that the walking bridge would have to be delayed for up to eight years, or until the bypass channel is completed for the Trinity River Vision.

That's an unsettling proposition.

TCC has to move ahead on the campus, because it expects to host 3,500 students by its planned opening in fall 2008. If necessary, it can shift classes to buildings that aren't affected by the corps' decision and learn to live without the bridge.

If that happens, who knows whether the college district will still have the money and the political will to construct the grand bridge in the middle of the next decade?

"These big projects have a certain momentum," Thom says. "If you lose that momentum, you take a chance that things will change."

Gideon Toal engineers are trying to address the corps' concerns: The bridge and two north-side buildings near the river are designed to rest on 18 piers; driving those piers into the existing levees could weaken them and make the levees vulnerable to a flood.

"We couldn't allow anything that could raise the risk of flooding," says Michael Mocek, deputy district engineer at the corps' Fort Worth district office.

Developers often ask about putting projects near rivers and flood-control areas, but Mocek says, "I don't know of any others built on levees." Gideon Toal is talking about changing the spacing of the piers and other construction techniques that would prevent any kind of Katrina-type disaster. Randy Gideon says that the review process is still playing out and that the principals are hopeful about reaching a solution in the next four to six weeks.

The easy answer is to wait for the bypass channel. That will control flooding and allow the levees to be torn down, which would eliminate any concerns about the TCC piers.

Except that no one connected with the project wants to wait that long. The walking bridge is too fundamental to the entire design.

"The bridge is one of the most iconic elements," Thom says. "There's no bridge like it anywhere in the world."

It will have wide walkways and large viewing areas on two levels, connected by a wall of glass shingles.

Thom envisions water gently rolling against the glass, part of a water element that starts with a stepped waterfall at Belknap Street and meanders into reflecting ponds on the opposite end of the project.

The water is another connection to the Trinity, providing a cooling, calming influence.

The campus emphasizes its public spaces, reaching out to downtown workers and drawing them toward the river. Most will enter in the open plaza near the Tarrant County Courthouse, a place designed for gathering and eating a sack lunch.

Follow the path, crossing under Belknap, and you emerge between the future administration building and the conference center. One structure jets over the bluff in a cantilever effect reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater home, albeit with a lot less falling water.

One level of the walking bridge is at street grade, and both walkways follow the slope of the Main Street Bridge to the west. Thom loves the view from the riverbank, looking through the arches of the older bridge to the new.

The buildings will be made of earth-toned concrete, adorned by aluminum screens that reflect heat, cast shadows on the walkways below and add texture to the structures.

Thom says the buildings, about the size of a city block, are each unique in their shape and orientation.

From a bird's-eye view, they appear tilted, slightly off-center, and Thom says that's by design.

"Art is never obvious, but art should not be uncomfortable," he says. "Why do you do it? To make you come back the second time."

It will be about a 10-minute walk from one end of the complex to the other, a distance that Thom dictated because that's the maximum time between classes. As people move from one area to the next, they'll pass through wide and narrow spaces, in both shade and sunlight.

Thom says he's trying to re-create the feeling of walking through the woods, toward a river, opening upon one vista and then walking to the next beneath the trees.

"There's no one grand view that you see it all," Thom says. "It's a series of views that encourage you to keep coming."

All this doesn't come cheap. The price tag is currently $274 million, including $40 million for the land. The final cost will be announced in a few months, and it will probably be higher.

That's significantly more than TCC has spent on any previous campus, but the ambitions are much larger -- connecting the city in a new way.

The college "is not just trying to take the shortest route for itself," Thom says. "It's looking at what it can do to enhance the whole spirit of Fort Worth."

Now we'll see if they can get it done.

TARRANT COUNTY COLLEGE DOWNTOWN CAMPUS

Timing: Construction begins this month on buildings; campus scheduled to open for classes in fall 2008.

Costs: Current estimate is $274 million, including land.

Enrollment: 3,500 students initially; an additional 1,300 by 2010.

Architects: Bing Thom of Vancouver, Gideon Toal of Fort Worth.

Size: About 400,000 square feet initially; campus space could be nearly doubled by 2023.

Faculty: 70 full-time teachers at opening; eventually, TCC projects 120 full-time and 100 part-time faculty.

#128 Fort Worthology

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Posted 15 November 2006 - 10:52 AM

This really does sound like it's going to be a beautiful complex. A very welcome change of pace from the almost anti-architecture of the current TCC buildings.

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#129 bburton

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Posted 15 November 2006 - 06:17 PM

Article in today's Star Telegram:

http://www.dfw.com/m...fw/16017089.htm


#130 vjackson

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Posted 16 November 2006 - 11:13 AM

I don't know if I like the project or not. I still haven't seen a decent rendering!!! What I saw on the slide show in the Star was just a bunch of shoe boxes lined up around a bridge and the building that was shown with some detail looked like a high school. And not to mention the typical FW crap of "if we get it built" and it might be scaled back, and the bridge could take eight years!!!!! Typical

But when I read the Star yesterday, I clicked on the "comments" section of the story. It doesn't seem the citizens of FW are backing this project at all. I think there were four pages of comments and nothing positive. Many complained about the price tag, many other didn't feel a another Jr. College campus was needed and many were not impressed with the campus itself. But what I thought was funny was someone said they had an architectureal degree and the people who didn't like the rendering just couldn't comprehend architecture. Was that someone from this forum???

#131 Sam Stone

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Posted 16 November 2006 - 02:20 PM

I agree, vjackson.

Something that bothered me about it was the way the architect refers to himself as an artist and the building art. I mean no disrespect when I say that I think architects are not artists and architecture not art, in fact, quite the opposite. I think they do a disservice to their field when they talk about themselves as artists. Architecture and art have very different purposes. Architecture must be tethered to reality in a way that art never is. To untether it is an egomaniacal gesture toward the people who must intereact with the building in the future. It is also a sloppy undisciplined easy way out of designing. I think what real architects (who don't call themselves artists) do is much harder and deserve much respect.

#132 Fort Worthology

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Posted 16 November 2006 - 02:21 PM

Between all the renderings that have appeared over the course of the project's history, I've got a pretty good idea of how it's going to look. And personally, I like it, though I'm surprised that I do as it's not my usual style. It gives me a kinda Frank Lloyd Wright-ish vibe that I find neat.

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#133 cjyoung

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Posted 16 November 2006 - 02:37 PM

QUOTE(vjackson @ Nov 16 2006, 11:13 AM) View Post

I don't know if I like the project or not. I still haven't seen a decent rendering!!! What I saw on the slide show in the Star was just a bunch of shoe boxes lined up around a bridge and the building that was shown with some detail looked like a high school. And not to mention the typical FW crap of "if we get it built" and it might be scaled back, and the bridge could take eight years!!!!! Typical

But when I read the Star yesterday, I clicked on the "comments" section of the story. It doesn't seem the citizens of FW are backing this project at all. I think there were four pages of comments and nothing positive. Many complained about the price tag, many other didn't feel a another Jr. College campus was needed and many were not impressed with the campus itself. But what I thought was funny was someone said they had an architectureal degree and the people who didn't like the rendering just couldn't comprehend architecture. Was that someone from this forum???


Those are the same people who don't feel like they should pay HOA dues or taxes... they should probably move to Granbury or Weatherford.

I like it and I feel like the TRV, Trinity Uptown, and TCC projects are making great progress (unlike the Dallas Trinity river project). A new Fort Worth is coming soon, like it (and I do) or not.

#134 JBB

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Posted 16 November 2006 - 11:17 PM

QUOTE(vjackson @ Nov 16 2006, 11:13 AM) View Post

Many complained about the price tag, many other didn't feel a another Jr. College campus was needed and many were not impressed with the campus itself.


I took classes at 3 of the 4 TCC campuses over a couple of semesters about 9 years ago and they were grossly overcrowded then. I think it would be hard to argue against more space for the school, but I think they can do themselves and the tax payers a lot more service with their 3/4 of a billion than their current plans.


#135 John T Roberts

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Posted 19 November 2006 - 08:18 AM

Mitchell Schnurman has some comments on the design of the campus and he urges everyone to "Focus on Payoff, Not The Cost".

#136 safly

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Posted 19 November 2006 - 02:36 PM

Let's hope they offer some Architectural Studies there.
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#137 Nitixope

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Posted 20 November 2006 - 01:15 PM

QUOTE(safly @ Nov 19 2006, 02:36 PM) View Post

Let's hope they offer some Architectural Studies there.

Actually, the Technology Department (Architectural, Construction, and Engineering) is located at TCC Southeast Campus. That doesn't mean it won't happen though.

#138 vjackson

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Posted 20 November 2006 - 02:18 PM

My buddy in FW feels the city is again getting something second rate. A new riverfront, multi-million, state-of-the-art, architectural significant,....JR College. I think more would welcome it if it were a private or state college. He's a little ticked off about it because he and his wife paid out of district fees so his wife could attend paralegal school at El Centro in downtown Dallas. Its paralegal program is ABA approved (TCC's isn't) and has a good reputation in the legal community.
Does TCC offer any widely respected programs?

#139 cberen1

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Posted 20 November 2006 - 03:39 PM

I think the supporters would argue that expanding the facilities and shaking off that jr. college appearance is one part of having a better product offering. If they back that up with an expanded curriculum I think some great things could come out of TCC (not TCJC, thank you very much).

#140 cjyoung

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Posted 20 November 2006 - 04:04 PM

QUOTE(vjackson @ Nov 20 2006, 02:19 PM) View Post

Does TCC offer any widely respected programs?


Is that the next battle front? "Our junior college offers more widely respected programs."

I took some of my lower division courses during summers back from college at TCJC and the instructors were just as boring as the TA's at big state U. sleepgo.gif

#141 SurplusPopulation

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Posted 20 November 2006 - 07:30 PM

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Come on, Vjack! Now our college isn't good enough!?! Dude we're excited! Its a cool, new campus on the bluff over the river that will tie into the new development to come. Most here seem pleased with the design of the new campus so you attack TCC's academics!! Come on, man!

A GOOD PORTION OF FORT WORTH'S CHARM LIES IN THE FACT THAT WE HAVE MANY SIMILARITIES TO BOTH BIG CITIES AND SMALL TOWNS. ITS OUR CHARACTER!!!

#142 JBB

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Posted 20 November 2006 - 08:49 PM

I think you guys are overreacting in a huge way. All he said was that DCCC's paralegal program is ABA approved and TCC's isn't. Is that really worth started a fight about? Sounds pretty fact based to me.


#143 safly

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Posted 20 November 2006 - 10:26 PM

I'm just happy that the TCC president said such nice things about WHY TCC belongs there. He sold me on it, and he wasn't even paid some ridiculous $1million "campaign amount" of endorsement money to do it. Right? Right?

Besides I can't wait for them to open up a real public tennis court at that campus. Might take a course or two.

It is what's needed, I KNOW IT WORKS wonders in downtown SA, to have both a UT and ACCD campus centrally located. And I think TAMU is also looking to place something around downtown SA. I think it is a great idea and will definitely see 10's of thousands of students become inspired with having an active role in DTFW's scene. I'm all for it.
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#144 vjackson

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Posted 21 November 2006 - 08:38 AM

QUOTE(SurplusPopulation @ Nov 20 2006, 09:30 PM) View Post

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Come on, Vjack! Now our college isn't good enough!?! Dude we're excited! Its a cool, new campus on the bluff over the river that will tie into the new development to come. Most here seem pleased with the design of the new campus so you attack TCC's academics!! Come on, man!

Hello!!!! When did I say the college wasn't good enough? I love the idea of putting a college on the river no matter what level it is. A friend of mine thinks its worthless, not me. I don't know anything about TCC's academics...that's why I asked what type of programs it offered. I took some basic courses at a jr. college, so why would I belittle one?? But JBB is right, the fact the El Centro has an highly respected ABA approved paralegal program and TCC doesn't is just fact. It also has a highly regarded culinary and nursing programs. ( The nursing program is getting its own building near West End). Let's not pretend my buddy in FW is alone in his lowly opinions of jr. colleges and from the responses in the Star-Telegram, many FW citizens ( not on this forum) feel the same way. So don't pretend that all of a sudden jr. colleges are now highly respected and all the rage and every parent sits on pins and needles hoping that TCC is where thier child goes to school. Anyone knows the buzz and press would have been much greater and everyone would be more on board if Texas A&M were putting a satellite campus on the site.

I was merely trying to make the point that although not a private or state college, Jr colleges can still have programs that are highly regarded and respected by employers in the community and can be seen as more than low-budget vocational schools.

#145 cjyoung

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Posted 21 November 2006 - 12:23 PM

QUOTE(safly @ Nov 20 2006, 10:26 PM) View Post

I'm just happy that the TCC president said such nice things about WHY TCC belongs there. He sold me on it, and he wasn't even paid some ridiculous $1million "campaign amount" of endorsement money to do it. Right? Right?

Besides I can't wait for them to open up a real public tennis court at that campus. Might take a course or two.

It is what's needed, I KNOW IT WORKS wonders in downtown SA, to have both a UT and ACCD campus centrally located. And I think TAMU is also looking to place something around downtown SA. I think it is a great idea and will definitely see 10's of thousands of students become inspired with having an active role in DTFW's scene. I'm all for it.


Si, Senor.

...and maybe one day they'll offer senior-level courses and give Fort Worth it's first public college offering a bachelors degree (sorry University of Texas at Arlington at Fort Worth cheeburga.gif ).

#146 Keller Pirate

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Posted 21 November 2006 - 01:49 PM

I have questioned the location, wondering who would attend a college downtown. It seems the chancellor wants something nice for poorly educated Latinos and African-Americans that live in the area to boost their spirits. I also wonder what "poorly educated" means? I guess this will give them an opportunity to become better educated at a first class institution but what if these "poorly educated" people are too busy working long hours at low paying jobs and don't have time to go to college? Who then will be attending? Beside Safly taking tennis classes?

As some of the S-T readers pointed out getting DTFW is not as easy as it used to be, so most of the North Tarrant County folks are going to use other TCC campuses to avoid the hassel and parking fee's involved in DTFW.

The one point or question Mitchell Schnurman didn't address in his "Focus on the payoff not the cost" story was "can we afford it?" Sadly it appears this is rarely if ever asked by officials these days. I also would like to know who talked the TCC into this location. I'm sure the college administrators weren't just sitting around one day and said "lets build our next campus on a piece of property at two elevations separated by a river" Even an idiot would have figured that was inconvenient not to mention very expensive. Which comes back to the question, can we afford it? The answer is yes, as long as we can get away with it.

I'm guessing that the loss of this property off the tax rolls will be offset by the increase in assesments for other property in DTFW that will benefit from this fine addittion to the community. smilewink.gif

#147 vjackson

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Posted 21 November 2006 - 02:12 PM

QUOTE(Keller Pirate @ Nov 21 2006, 03:49 PM) View Post

I have questioned the location, wondering who would attend a college downtown. It seems the chancellor wants something nice for poorly educated Latinos and African-Americans that live in the area to boost their spirits. I also wonder what "poorly educated" means? I guess this will give them an opportunity to become better educated at a first class institution but what if these "poorly educated" people are too busy working long hours at low paying jobs and don't have time to go to college? Who then will be attending? Beside Safly taking tennis classes?

You asked a good question KP, who will be attending the classes at the new TCC? I will say this,..although El Centro in DTD does have some great programs, many people (not me) would say the school brings an undesirable element to downtown. Lots of loitering teens in baggy clothes, cursing loudly and intimidating downtown workers. Many crimes have been attributed to DCCCD students as well. I've been told that crime on the campus was so bad that the books in the bookstore are now kept behind the counter and you let the bookstore employee know what textbook you need and they pull it for you. I"ve walked through and near the campus many times and believe me, it's pretty lively. El Centro even has a racist nickname. How is DTFW going to feel when all of the "poorly educated Latinos and African-Americans are hanging out in abundance downtown?? I'm all for the campus, but sometimes be careful of what you ask for.

And although, I love the idea of a college on the river, I can easily understand the public's concern over the cost. Even I forget that TCC is a public entity.

#148 safly

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Posted 21 November 2006 - 08:04 PM

QUOTE
How is DTFW going to feel when all of the "poorly educated Latinos and African-Americans are hanging out in abundance downtown?? I'm all for the campus, but sometimes be careful of what you ask for.




You all are KIDDING, right???

I still say this is a college district offfering a new vision and OPPORTUNITY for all who WANT to become higher educated.

Sorry if it is not RICE or SMU, but it DOES have it's place in DTFW. So throw a pitty party for your own alma mater for not "stepping up" and taking the initiative on building along the TRINITY.

Besides, it's not like we NEVER see TCU and TWU students cause a Thursday night raucous in the DTFW area already. And chances are that these "underpriviledged and mal-educated" students at the new TCC will most likely be holding a job or two to get through their college kickstart program, so their butts are either headin to school or work. Therefore I don't see theDTFW massive TCC LOITERING as VJ pointed out.
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#149 vjackson

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Posted 22 November 2006 - 08:33 AM

QUOTE(safly @ Nov 21 2006, 10:04 PM) View Post

QUOTE
How is DTFW going to feel when all of the "poorly educated Latinos and African-Americans are hanging out in abundance downtown?? I'm all for the campus, but sometimes be careful of what you ask for.




You all are KIDDING, right???

I still say this is a college district offfering a new vision and OPPORTUNITY for all who WANT to become higher educated.

Sorry if it is not RICE or SMU, but it DOES have it's place in DTFW. So throw a pitty party for your own alma mater for not "stepping up" and taking the initiative on building along the TRINITY.

Besides, it's not like we NEVER see TCU and TWU students cause a Thursday night raucous in the DTFW area already. And chances are that these "underpriviledged and mal-educated" students at the new TCC will most likely be holding a job or two to get through their college kickstart program, so their butts are either headin to school or work. Therefore I don't see theDTFW massive TCC LOITERING as VJ pointed out.

Maybe I didn't make my post as clear as I should have. I don't know who will be attending the new TCC and I wish it much success in DTFW. I just was pointing out that the "bridge" to the underpriveleged may bring kids to downtown that some may have a problem with. And then again, it might not. I can't tell the future.

I'm sure TCU students might get a little wild occasionally, but I also know that there is a real double standard in that regard. When white TCU students get rowdy, they're just being kids. When black and latino kids do it, they're being thugs. But then again safly, I don't know you personaly so you might spend your weekends kickin' it in Stop Six and might be cool like that. There were many potential students for the new TCC campus where Radioshack's Headquarters now sits. I remember the love DTFW had for those underpriveleged folks. But it's been my experience that people who wouldn't step foot into certain neighborhoods are always welcoming to the poor, undereducated, minorities....until they're on thier doorstep.

#150 youngalum

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Posted 22 November 2006 - 11:18 AM

Working in Downtown Dallas, the El Centro area is central to the DART transportation, plus it IS DOWNTOWN DALLAS--always known for its homeless hanging around and general do nothing folk who are ALWAYS THERE IF SCHOOL IS IN SESSION OR NOT.

That isn't and will not be the same in DTFW.





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