City College of San Francisco officials today celebrated the reopening of its newly renovated John Adams campus north of the Panhandle.
The red brick building at 1860 Hayes St. was built in 1911 and spent its first decades as Lowell High School. A $46 million renovation included a major seismic retrofit and other structural work on the aging building, according to Martha Lucey, dean of public information for CCSF.
The 60-classroom campus, the second largest in the CCSF system, also boasts a remodeled gym and a vastly improved library.
“This is a large full-service library with ability for students to study and much more room to do so,” Lucey said.
The renovation was funded by bond money and state funds. Work began in 2003, but a second round of bond money kicked it into high gear in 2008, Lucey said. A portion of the classes moved to nearby DeAvila Middle School during this phase.
The work was finished earlier this month. City College officials and Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi celebrated the reopening at a ceremony this morning.
The community college district purchased the former school in 1970 and renamed it the John Adams Adult Education Center. Later it was designated one of CCSF’s official campuses. About 5,000 students take credit and non-credit classes at John Adams each term, Lucey said.
