Homes Rise from Ashes
Westmont officials are praising Santa Barbara city and county planners and building officials for expediting the reconstruction of buildings and homes destroyed in the November Tea Fire. Construction workers are making extensive progress rebuilding the 14 Las Barrancas faculty homes leveled in the blaze as well as the three structures in Clark Hall that burned. While the floor plans remain the same for the Las Barrancas homes architect Gil Garcia has incorporated code upgrades for the new homes. Architect Peter Ehlen and student life officials have improved the function of the floor plans in the Clark Hall residences.
After clearing away charred debris, workers poured new slabs on top of existing slabs for the gutted Las Barrancas homes. Crews started work in April and have completed the framing and trusses on six homes, began framing four others and completed the roof of one home. General contractor Parton-Edwards Construction says residents will be moving back into their homes starting in December.
Work is also finishing on 27 other Las Barrancas homes that were damaged in the fire. By the end of June, crews will have removed every window and replaced them with aluminum-framed windows, which meet current fire codes.
The Las Barrancas Homeowners Association is moving forward with ambitious plans to fit the roofs of each of the 41 homes with solar panels.
Since the foundation and masonry walls of Clark M and S are sound, Melchiori Construction crews are using the existing walls to rebuild. The residence halls will be rebuilt using steel rather than wood studs for interior walls. A sink and a shower will also be added to the first and second floor bathrooms. Clark F, which housed Resident Director Mark McCormick and his family, will be rebuilt to better accommodate the family and improve the cottage as a gathering space for students. Crews have poured a new foundation and slab for Clark F and report that all work at Clark should be finished in mid-August before the start of the fall 2009 semester.
The physics building and Bauder Hall were also destroyed in the Tea Fire, but trustees decided not to rebuild them for now as the departments they housed, psychology and physics, will move into Winter Hall when it’s completed in 2010. The site of Bauder has become a temporary parking lot, and construction materials are being temporarily stored where the physics building once stood.
Updated construction photos of new building and Tea Fire rebuilding are available for viewing.