By Luis Diaz
A new contractor will continue the construction of East Los Angeles College’s South Gate Educational Center after the previous contractor left the project.
ELAC held a historic groundbreaking ceremony on March 22, 2019 to celebrate for the new home of the ELAC South Gate Educational Center. Since then there wasn’t much of an update about the progress of the new campus until October 18.
“We just got a new contractor. The community has been waiting for this new campus to open. The previous contractor backed out, so we went into a new bidding process with a new contractor,” Al Rios, South Gate Center Dean, said.
The new South Gate campus will be a state-of-the-art institution that will include a library, lecture hall, classrooms and labs.
By expanding the South Gate Center the people of the surrounding cities of Huntington Park, Lynwood, Cudhay, and South Los Angeles will have access to the same college experience as those that attend the Monterey Park Campus.
“It’s a big step forward to have more capacity, to bring in more staff, to bring those resources for the students,” Rios said.
The campus will allow for an increase in student capacity. With so many additional classes that will be offered, attendance numbers should increase as well.
“This means so much to the community. We are getting money separate from the main campus… the new college is a game changer. I believe this can be bigger than Southwest College, Harbor College” said Rios.
On Oct. 18, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Albert M. Carvalho met with ELAC personnel to create a partnership with the South Gate Center.
The focus was on creating pathways for LAUSD students to attend college. It also focused on giving students a positive mindset when it comes to attending college.
The new South Gate campus will be located at the corner of Firestone Boulevard. and Santa Fe Avenue. The campus is projected to open in fall 2024.