The East Cottage next to the California History Center is back on the ground and in the process of rehabilitation after being elevated on stilts for two months.

Once completed, the historic structure will contain offices for the Institute for Community and Civic Engagement, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research and Resource Laboratory and a classroom, Vice President of Finance Donna Jones-Dulin said at a meeting in the History Center on May 7.

The cottage is one of three buildings to be rehabilitated in the fall of 2011. The Baldwin winery, previously the old bookstore, along with the Sunken Garden, will be renovated as well.

The exterior of the cottage will remain the same but there will be interior work done because of water and mold damage.

The Baldwin Winery will house printing offices on the second floor, and the Financial Aid office and part-time faculty offices will be located on the lower level.

“I was really concerned that we save this historic cottage,” CHC board chair Vicki Atherton said. “The fact that we were not only able to save it, but also make it useful for students and the community is a wonderful thing.”

In addition to renovating buildings, staff plan to label plants and trees on campus so that students can learn about their history.

“This whole area, including the Sunken Garden, is all historical. Parts of it can be dated back to the 1890s. It is going to take to take a number of years to complete these renovations but the idea is to try and save this area and preserve the historic structure,” Executive Director of the CHC Tom Izu said.

Jones-Dulin hopes that these renovations will integrate “the old and the new.”

Jones-Dulin said $435,000 from measure C funds will supply the restoration process, which will begin a year from now.

“The budget is a major conflict in its completion. We have the constraint of our budget to work with,” she said

“With the sunken garden, [the school] wants to install different kinds of educational plaques and artwork that talks about the history of the area, but this is very tricky to do because of the budget. That part is still open for discussion,” Izu said.

The East Cottage is one of two cottages originally on campus, the other one was torn down a few years ago.

“We were very sad to lose one of the two cottages, but we see a bright future for this building in serving students and the community,” CHC librarian and archivist Lisa Christiansen said.

The Architectural Resource Group is in charge of the floor plan and renovations to the cottage.

Janecki & Associates Landscape Architects will undertake the landscaping project. The firm predicts to complete the renovations by 2012.