C.W. Driver Commences Work on OC Chemistry Building

By Eric Althoff

COSTA MESA, Calif.—General contracting company C.W. Driver Companies has broken ground on Orange Coast College’s new chemistry building, a $32.5 million project that will offer up-to-date lecture halls, laboratories, faculty offices and other amenities.

The two-story, 43,800-square-foot building will be home to nine laboratories that can accommodate larger class sizes while simultaneously providing individual workstations for students. Furthermore, the chemistry building will offer the latest technology, HVAC equipment as well as outdoor study areas to take advantage of Southern California’s climate.

The design for the new building, as imagined by tBP Architecture, will feature room-length windows that allow for faculty, other students and curious visitors to observe chemistry instruction and experimentation at work.

However, for the science building to be realized, C.W. Driver will first need to demolish the existing Literature & Languages Building, which was constructed on the same space in 1976.

“Seeing these new buildings take shape on campus, and knowing that we have been a big part in their creation, brings us great satisfaction,” David Amundson, C.W. Driver’s project executive, said of his firm’s ongoing work at Orange Coast College, which also included building the campus’s Language Arts & Social Sciences Building, Kinesiology and Athletics Complex and Student Union Complex.

The chemistry building is expected to be ready sometime near the end of 2024.