Two possible locations for MCCC’s proposed new Career Technology Center are north of the Life Sciences building and behind the Health Education building.
The potential locations were introduced at the Campus Development Committee’s Wednesday meeting.
Video: Tim Bennett presents location options
The architectural firm, Hobbs + Black of Ann Arbor, which was selected by the college last summer, has created drawings for the future building, placing it in different locations on campus.
The drawings were displayed at Wednesday’s meeting.
The possible locations will be discussed further by the committee, and issues such as parking and wetland areas will be studied by the architects to determine the best place for the new building.
Originally, the Life Sciences building was constructed as a half-building in 1972, which left room for future development.
The land behind the Health Education building was a space holder location, meant to be a place where possible athletic fields could be created.
The college owns all the land that extends to the Monroe County ISD, Bennett said.
It’s still unclear when and whether the building will move beyond the planning stage.
“We do not have the money yet for this building,” said Tim Bennett, Vice President of Business Affairs at MCCC.
The new building could cost anywhere from $10-$17 million dollars, depending on the size and how much is put into it, Bennett said.
As part of the state’s funding process, the college needs to show the state it has 50 percent of the necessary money. The state would then supply the other 50 percent.
“We cannot, as a community college with state funds, just build a building,” Bennett said.
The college has to get state permission to build a new building, partly because of colleges that constructed buildings in the past without planning for how to operate them. Then they would go to the state and request money to operate the buildings, Bennett said.
“It’s a long road,” MCCC President David Nixon said. “All the planning that is being done right now is essential because money could fall out of the sky. It could be in a stimulus package from the federal government or some other place.”
Bennett said the MCCC Foundation has looked at capital campaigns and talked to fund-raisers about raising money for the new building.
It also conducted a study in the community to see whether the building would get support, which was met with positive responses.
The college wants to build the new Career Technology Center to replace the East and West Technology buildings, since the technology in those buildings is outdated.
“The technology, as all of us know, has changed since 1964,” Bennett said.
The East and West Technology buildings would be remodeled and used for other needs on campus, he said.
Each technology faculty member has been consulted to determine their present and future program needs, which could be accommodated with the new building, Bennett said.
Check out Hobbs + Black’s website for examples of their architecture here: http://www.hobbs-black.com/
