If you are attending a class inside the College Complex building, you might have noticed a bunch of wrapped packages that were scattered throughout the halls. These packages are new benches and chairs that are now filling the empty hallways for students who want an open air environment to hang out in instead of just standing around.

Ki Furniture is the company that provided all the new tables and benches outside. Director of Operations and Maintenance Michael Schenone has said that Los Medanos College has previously worked with them before and the District has often used their services for other locations. Employees of Ki Furniture came in on Thursday Sept. 15 and 16 to set up everything and were efficient with their work.

The hallways of the College Complex building are now no longer barren, and are filled with color. Carlos Montoya, Vice President of Business and Administrative Services, has said that this project was a long time coming.

“The planning for this project originally started last fall but [because of] supply chain disruptions, it’s just now being installed,” Montoya said. “The project had a cost of approximately $227,000.”

It’s an expensive investment, but one LMC is more than willing to make for the sake of its students and faculty. The College Complex building houses many classrooms and it has been long requested to have new furniture outside so people can have a space to work in the open air and still be protected from the weather. The new furniture also compliments the WiFi upgrades that occurred last semester too, which saw parking lot A receiving a connectivity boost allowing students to connect to the college WiFi from there. 

Despite all the new furniture however, it seems to only be within the College Complex building. Other sections of LMC such as the Mathematics and Science buildings are not seeing any upgrades this semester. Montoya has said that the reasoning behind this is due to factors that LMC has to consider before making another investment like this, but it doesn’t mean that these buildings won’t ever see one.

“This project is just for the College Complex, however we’re continuing to assess and evaluate student needs across the campus,” Montoya said.

It’s a nice upgrade to have and the new furniture is already being put to good use. Considering that the weather is starting to shift from blazing hot summer days to more rainy and chilly days, it couldn’t have come at a better time. 

Although there are no plans for new projects in other buildings on campus, it doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. As Montoya said, they are assessing what sort of student needs are priority and with campus starting to become more lively, it’s only a matter of time before another project that benefits everyone on campus starts again.