LEARNING GREEN – Gateway’s Pike Creek Horticultural Center

Groundbreaking: November, 2011

Grand Opening: May, 2012

Scope of Work: 1500 SF Remodel and 4800 SF Addition; lobby with store, new soils lab, additional classrooms, office space, restrooms, walk-in cooler, water collection cistern

Horticulture is the art, science, technology and business of intensive plant cultivation for human use (source; Wikipedia). In a collegiate setting, it means learning. In this new, much larger space, it means room to expand and grow the horticultural experience at Gateway Technical College.

: Gateway Technical College’s New Horicultural Center

Green processes were used during the construction of this building including recycling waste materials, using eco-friendly brick and ordering products from vendors as close to home as possible. A building for (green) plants built using green methods . . . that’s double green – GREEN². At Scherrer, our commitment to reduce, reuse and recycle is a great match to these special projects.

Tucked away in the back of the new building is a 5,700 gallon cistern for water collection (pictured above). It is a 15 ft. tall tank that will collect needed water from roof drains and use the precious resource to feed plants.

Project architect, Jeff Bridleman from Partners in Design, noted , “The over project went well given the tough deadline. The project looks great and Scherrer’s Keith Lois has set the standard for on-site superintendents – I would love it if all my contractor superintendents were as good as he is.”