Located between the A-quad and the main quad, the Baldwin Winery isa building that students may walk by without as much as a second glance. Some students don’t know what was housed in this building or what will be housed in the future.

For many years, it was the college bookstore. As the years went by, there were discussions on whether or not the Baldwin Winery should be updated.

Finally on June 6, 2006, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District service area voted and approved a $490.8 million bond for facilities improvements and upgrades, through Measure C. The Baldwin Winery, along with other buildings such as the Multi-Cultural Center, was a part of the reconstruction plan.

Construction began but was met with a number of complications.

“Anytime you remodel a building, it’s really difficult. You need to get in there and figure out what parts you need to customize and retrofit,” Bob Malone, the project’s temperature control engineer, said.

The reconstruction on the Baldwin Winery was mainly to update and modify technology to standards, but once the construction team got into the logistics, it was clear certain parts needed to be customized and replaced.

Even with all the technical difficulties, the construction on the Baldwin Winery is close to complete. The construction crew is adding finishing touches to ensure the efficiency of the building’s technology.

According to Malone, De Anza should now be able to regulate and check-in on the amount of energy being emitted.

A new print shop for De Anza will be on the top floor of the Baldwin Winery while the financial aid office will occupy the lower floor. These new additions will make both services easier for students and faculty to locate. The newly constructed offices in the Baldwin Winery will provide more workspace for part-time faculty as well.

Financial Aid and the Print Shop will be able to move in mid-February and, shortly after, will officially open. Because of the lack of publicity, many De Anza students did not know what the reconstruction would offer them.

“Originally I was under the impression that the building was being reconstructed into another bookstore but, the time spent on that was completely ridiculous. The lack of information made me doubt when this building would ever be finished,” Kenny Fung, Dance Major said. “Now that I know what the building will be, I think it will be an asset to the students and the faculty.”

De Anza College Associate Vice President, Donna Jones Dulin said, “The project was originally supposed to be completed last August, but we had to push the deadline back, which was a bit of a disappointment. Now that the building is actually finished and will be opening next month, it puts the Financial Aid building and Print Shop, as well as new work spaces for part time faculty, in one spot which makes it really accessible.”