Claremont McKenna College’s new building, the Kravis Center, is not expected to be completed until spring 2011 at the earliest, according to the college’s website.

If it is finished by then, the project will have taken two and a half years from groundbreaking to completion. The projected finish date has already been set back once, however, and there is still significant work to be done on the project.

According to Frank Perri, CMC’s Director of Construction, progress is being made at the site. Approximately 100 to 125 workers are currently working on the project. The structure of the building has been completed, along with some surface finishing, stairs, and glass handrails.

“We are going to have the building enclosed by the end of the year,” he said. “It should be weathertight by then.”

Perri declined to comment on what caused delays on the project.

The construction site is located on Columbia, between 8th and 9th Streets. It is situated across from Honnold-Mudd Library, at the westernmost point of CMC’s campus. Currently, an alternative sidewalk route is in place around the site to accommodate pedestrians.

When it is completed, the Kravis Center will be used for a variety of purposes. It will house 56 offices, as well as classrooms and seminar rooms, courtyards, and even an underground parking center with room for 55 cars. Its area will exceed one hundred thousand square feet.

The college has decided to emphasize sustainability in the new building. It is expected to be certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council.

“Our goal at the start of the [Kravis Center] project has been to achieve a “Silver” rating, but I think we can fairly easily achieve a “Gold” rating,” said Raphael Vinoly-Menendez, Los Angeles Project Manager of the architectural firm that designed the building. A Silver certification would mean that the building garnered 50 to 59 points out of 100 possible on the USGBC’s checklist, while a Gold certification would denote 60 to 79 points.

Vinoly-Menendez pointed out several innovative features of the building designed to make it more “green,” including a “chilled beam” cooling system, which uses cold water and natural air flow. This not only requires less energy than a typical air conditioning system, it also is quieter and requires less space. The building has also been constructed to maximize natural light.

The Kravis Center is named in honor of investor and philanthropist Henry R. Kravis CMC ’67, who also donated money to the college for the Kravis Leadership Institute and the Kravis Prize, a $250,000 gift awarded annually for leadership of a nonprofit organization. Kravis was also the 2010 commencement speaker at CMC.