LaG CC Center 3 Building To Get $7M Facelift
L aGuardia Community College is beginning a major renovation project that will give its

LaGuardia Community College's 600,000-square-foot, 92-year-old Center 3 building, once the home of the Sunshine Biscuit Company, will undergo $7 million worth of renovations to its roof, faade and elevators.

92-year-old Center 3 building

a much-needed facelift. The college has earmarked $7 million from its capital budget for three projects on the nine-story building: replacing the roof, upgrading the elevator system and beautifying the faade.

"Each of these three capital projects will modernize the building, helping us to better serve our students and the community," Lag CC President Gail O. Mellow said. Mellow thanked Borough President Helen Marshall, Assemblymember Catherine Nolan and City Councilmembers Eric Gioia and David Weprin for their support.

The largest of the planned projects is the replacement of the waterproofing materials on the roof, which will cost more than $4 million. The firm Superstructures Engineers + Architectures has been commissioned to do the work, which will be completed this coming fall.

The college has hired Fuller and D'Angelo P.C. to conduct a study on rejuvenating the deteriorating faade. Richard Elliott, LaG CC vice president of administration, said the probes currently taking place will determine how the college goes about renovating and transforming the look of Center 3.

The college is investing nearly $2.5 million in the antiquated elevators, many of which are still fitted with motor generators from the days when the building was constructed. The project includes the conversion of a freight elevator to passenger service, the upgrading of three additional elevators and the installation of two more. "As more floors are designed and new classrooms and offices are built, the volume of visitors will only intensify, making transportation a priority," Elliott said.

The 600,000-square-foot building, which was built in 1914, housed the Loose-Wiles Sunshine Biscuit Company, one of the many businesses that were part of the thriving Long Island City industrial community. In its time, it was the largest factory in Long Island City and was dubbed the world's largest bakery. It employed more than 2,500 workers.

The college purchased the building and several adjacent properties for $54 million in 1998. The building, which increased the size of the college campus by 70 percent, marked the largest expansion of LaG CC facilities in the college's 25-year history. Along with the industrial loft building, which occupies an entire block bounded by Thomson, Skillman and 47th Avenues and 29th and 30th Streets, the college acquired a two-story parking garage with an outdoor parking lot and an additional parking lot located on 47th Avenue and 30th Street. Since acquiring the building, the college has renovated the first four floors and the seventh floor.

"In many respects, Center 3 is the embodiment of a community's transition, an enduring symbol of Long Island City's drive and determination to move forward," Mellow said. "With long-range improvements, it will continue to serve New York residents."