California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) officially broke ground on a $4.3 million, nearly 10,600-square-foot addition to its School of Nursing Building at a special event on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at the construction site.

The addition is expected to be completed and ready for occupancy in August 2010.

Approved by the CSU Board of Trustees in September 2008, the single story addition to the existing CSULB nursing building will house teaching and computer labs as well as administrative and department offices. It is the first addition to the university’s nursing facilities since 1975.

"Currently, we have 870 nursing students, and we only have two classrooms, the largest of which holds 36 students. So, this addition will certainly be an improvement on what we have," said Lucy Huckabay, director of the CSULB School of Nursing (The CSULB Department of Nursing became the School of Nursing in May 2009). "We are grateful that we will have three more classrooms and a computer lab as part of this project."

The university’s bachelor’s of science in nursing (B.S.N.) program has 90 slots per semester, thanks in large part to support from Long Beach Memorial Medical Center and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Still, the program receives about 350 applicants for those 90 spots. Since 2004, the CSULB nursing program has quadrupled its enrollments to help deal with the nursing shortage.

"I love groundbreaking ceremonies because they signify our progress in so many ways," said CSULB President F. King Alexander. "This groundbreaking is a testimony to the vital work of our School of Nursing faculty and staff. It is also testimony to the 300-plus nursing graduates that leave this program annually to help those with the greatest health needs, including our elderly and children."

Specifications for the new structure call for a steel brace frame with steel decking and metal studs. The exterior of the addition will be a combination of thin brick, aluminum storefront and glass windows and stucco plaster, matching the existing nursing building. Sustainable features will include natural daylighting, materials with high recycled content, waterless urinals, low-flow plumbing fixtures and higher rated insulation.

The architect for the project is HMC Architects based in Ontario, and the contractor is Taisei Construction Corp., which is based in Cypress.