SAN MARCOS: Construction downturn may be a boon for Palomar College

Up to $1 billion in new facilities planned in next 15 years

By TOM PFINGSTEN - Staff Writer | Friday, November 28, 2008 11:07 AM PST ∞

SAN MARCOS ---- As Palomar College embarks on a construction spree costing hundreds of millions of dollars, the recent economic downturn and resulting nose dive in North County construction projects may end up saving the college money in the near future, officials said last week.

Bonnie Dowd, vice president of finance and administrative services, said the downturn didn't appear to have any effect on the price of the recently launched $36 million "multi-disciplinary" building.

But there were more bidders than usual ---- around 100 ---- a hint that the lagging economy might be motivating some builders who have never worked in the educational realm to try their hand at it.

"It's possible, with these tough economic times, that you'll have subcontractors who never bid on educational (projects) bidding," Dowd said, adding that more bidders usually translates into better prices because of the competition. "When you have a job opening, if there aren't that many people who apply for the job, you may not necessarily get the best and brightest."

That has a tendency to happen when the economy is booming and construction work is plentiful, she said.

But in times like these, even the best builders may be out of work.

"This is a great time (to build)," said Jim Ryan, vice president of the San Diego chapter of Associated General Contractors. "There's a sale going on in the construction industry, so they ought to push out every project they can right now."

A $694 million bond measure dubbed "Proposition M" was approved by 57.6 percent of voters in November 2006. The measure qualified the college for an additional $299 million in matching funds from the state.

Officials at the college have said they plan on building 15 new facilities, renovating 15 others and erecting two satellite campuses over the next 15 years.

Ryan said Palomar, with its $1 billion construction budget, is one of the only local entities with "the resources and ability" to keep building at that pace.

"I would get those projects out on the street as fast as I could," he said.

Dowd agreed: "Who knows what the economy's going to be like in five years? Who knows what it's going to be like in two years?

"We've been saying for years that the cost of construction's going up ---- steel's gone up, wood's gone up," she added. "From our standpoint, we just have to be persistent in every single building we do. We're going to stay on budget, and we're going to stay on time. You always run the risk of costs going up."

The 110,000-square-foot multi-disciplinary building has been hailed as the centerpiece in Palomar's construction campaign.

Next up is a 25,000-square-foot health sciences building, which is expected to cost $10 million.

That project will go out to bid in December, and Dowd said the next round of bids may reveal more about how the economic crisis will affect the cost of building new campus facilities.

For construction companies throughout the county, times are tough.

"There's been a significant drop in workload in the private sector ---- warehouses, shopping malls, that sort of thing ---- and there's been a significant drop in residential and infrastructure jobs," Ryan said. "They've got to be a little smarter about how they do things, trim the sales as much as they can. Recessions tend to do that."

That's why the building boom at Palomar is a win-win, he added: "Without the residential market, their only place to go is projects like Palomar's."

Contact staff writer Tom Pfingsten at (760) 740-3516 or tpfingsten@nctimes.com.