Local Construction Projects – COM & SFD

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard

College of Marin

Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Project Update – Work Winding down in the Bacich area!

Starting January 18 through the end of the month, new traffic signal poles will be installed at Laurel Grove and Wolfe Grade and once done, the old traffic signals will be removed.    The pork chop island at Wolfe Grade will be removed and some medians on SFD will undergo curb improvements once the old signal poles are out.  Once completed (by end of January/early February), the majority of the construction work will be moving out of the Bacich area for an indeterminate (but long) time.   The water main line work will continue, moving east from College, but should not affect pedestrians/sidewalk access. Please continue to take care, allow for extra time, and pay attention to any detours.

To receive updates throughout the construction process and for more information on Upgrade the Drake, please visit the project website at www.upgradethedrake.com.

Marin County Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Corridor Rehabilitation (Highway 101 to Ross)

Upgrade The Drake Project Updates

Traffic Alert: Closure of Manor Road / Sir Francis Drake Boulevard Intersection starting November 11, 2020

Flyer on Tree Replacements

The County of Marin is in the final design phase for the rehabilitation of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard between Highway 101 and the Ross town limits. The project objectives are to improve vehicle flow, transit operations, and pedestrian and bicyclist circulation and safety.

The project is funded by Measure A, the Marin County Transportation Sales Tax measure passed by voters in 2004, in partnership with the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM). The Marin County Department of Public Works is also partnering with Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD) on this project to efficiently provide improvements to water service to the area.

Sir Francis Drake Rehabilitation Project

Potential Property Acquisition Open Forums

Letter below from COM President Coon regarding the potential property acquisition at 830 College Avenue.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I hope this finds you and yours healthy during this pandemic. I am reaching out to confirm that the Marin Community College District is considering the purchase of the former Union Bank building and property at 830 College Avenue. It is a fairly common practice for colleges and universities to consider the acquisition of properties adjacent to campuses when they come available for potential growth and expansion.

In this particular case, the former bank building with its 7,250 square feet could be ideal for relocating a variety of student services which are transactional in nature, such as Enrollment Services and Cashiering, where students register for classes and pay their fees. With its 32 parking spaces, the building could also house other services where accessibility is important. I would like to emphasize that if we do purchase the building there is no plan to demolish the structure or to develop the property differently. Any modifications would be limited to the interior of the building, primarily making updates including code compliant restrooms, etc.

You may be aware that we recently completed demolition of the Learning Resources Center (LRC) on College Avenue. We are currently in the design phase for replacing the LRC with a new 85,000 square foot building on the same site. With the potential acquisition of the bank building, we would reduce the square footage in the new LRC by an amount approximately equal to the bank building. The projected cost per square foot for new construction is nearly double that of the cost per square foot for the bank building. Accordingly, we believe this to be an opportunity to save significant resources.

I would like to invite you to join us for an open forum to hear about how the former Union Bank building could possibly be repurposed to benefit the college and community. We will also take you on a virtual tour of the space and answer any of your questions.

I hope you will consider joining us!

Best regards,

David Wain Coon, Ed.D.

Superintendent/President

College of Marin

Construction Updates M&O Building and Learning Resource Center

The contractor that is performing the demolition of the building, plans to be substantially complete in the next few weeks. This means that the majority of the hard demolition will be finished, but you will continue to see trucks off hauling debris from the site through the end of October.

This is after original complete time frame that we provided. We have had delays related to very specific cultural mitigation measures that are required per our Facilities Masterplan EIR.

We appreciate your continued support as we make improvements to our campus for our students and community.

Attached is the notice of construction activity for the LRC. Over the course of the demolition there will be large trucks coming in and out of the site via the driveway close to the crosswalk on College Avenue. We have noticed pedestrians not activating the flashing signals when using the crosswalk. Please remind your community to use this important safety feature as it is the only way vehicles exiting the driveway know that there are pedestrians in the crosswalk. We appreciate your help to keep our community safe.

** Pedestrians Crossing College Avenue **

Please remember to activate the flashing signals when using the crosswalk. This important safety feature is the only way vehicles exiting the driveway know that there are pedestrians in the crosswalk. We appreciate your help to keep our community safe.

More information can also be found on the Measure B website: measurebcom.org