Editor’s note: This version updates Helen Stripling’s title from an interim position to dean of health sciences and director of respiratory therapy.
Proposed renovations and expansion of the H Building are one step closer to becoming a reality through an approved capital outlay plan and a tentative renaming of the building.
The H Building, which is tentatively being renamed the Welch Center for Health and Public Safety, was approved to undergo a $22-$25 million transformation. This is scheduled to be commemorated at noon on Oct. 2 in front of the H Building through a groundbreaking ceremony, where Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist will be a featured speaker, according to a press release.
Helen Stripling, dean of health sciences and director of respiratory therapy, said in an email that funding for the project was included in the state budget as a capital outlay project and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in late July of this year.
The State of Michigan’s budget approved $10.9 million for the state’s portion of the cost for renovation and expansion of the current facility, according to a press release.
The amount is higher than the estimated $16.1 million project originally discussed at a roundtable held by the college last fall.
“When we reapplied to the state, we bumped up the total project to say the project will cost more and reported at least $22 million,” Jack Burns, director of campus planning and facilities, said in an email. “Right now, we are still exceeding that, and, when we finish value engineering the project, hopefully, we will be as close to that total as possible.”
Stripling said the project’s costs have gone up.
“The amount has increased significantly,” Stripling said. “From when we submitted the request to the state for a $16.1 million project, to the recently approved submission of $21.8 million, I have been told by the college’s facilities manager that the costs of all building materials and construction have greatly increased with inflation.”
In addition to the increased cost for materials, Stripling said there was an increase in scope to reconstruct the building’s existing parts to host the criminal justice program.
“I had also been under the impression that the plans included a [criminal justice] addition as ‘Phase 3,’ but recent developments now lead me to believe that a third phase would require separate funding,” Stripling said.
Burns, a licensed architect with experience in construction administration, said the remainder of funds will be taken from previous millage renewal funding.
The project will be broken down into several phases so that the college can keep the H Building up and operating while undergoing renovations. There will be three phases in total.
“Phase 1A will be the renovation to what is the current computer lab and then the old daycare center,” Burns said. “This area will house the new simulation labs and supporting spaces. This part of the project is being funded by a federal earmark of just over $2 million (for construction and the training of the technicians to run the new equipment housed there). This area will start construction after the first of the year.”
The estimated length of construction for Phase 1A will be three months followed by Phase 1B, which will be a two-story addition, approximately 30,000 square feet, which will house the nursing and respiratory therapy classrooms. Construction will be 11-12 months.
Burns said once the addition is completed and operating in fall of 2026, Phase 2 renovations to the existing building will begin.
“This is taking all of the existing classrooms and labs dedicated to the nursing and respiratory therapy programs on the west side of the building and repurposing them into new spaces with new uses such as meeting rooms, an expanded Health Sciences Division Office Suite, etc.,” he said.
Projects like this will be a “game changer for our nursing and respiratory therapy programs,” Burns said.
Currently, the nursing program is located in H and L Buildings. Once the project is finished, the program will be held under one roof and the number of beds used for instruction in the nursing program will triple, along with doubling the number of beds for instruction used in the respiratory therapy program. There will also be additional space for storage.
Phase 3, the final phase, is still in the design process. This addition will help the criminal justice program begin its fully accredited police academy.
“This addition will be coupled with a large driving pad for squad car training,” Burns said. “The addition will mainly house a shooting range, and right now we are working [with] Professor Dan Wood on the exact requirements to NRA guidelines and credentialing requirements for both pistol and rifle.”
Stripling said the new resources will allow MCCC to maintain and grow the level of excellence the college continues to provide for students, which will train them for jobs that will pay well and allow them to serve their community.
“This kind of investment in the college’s infrastructure guarantees we achieve that goal,” Stripling said. “We have top-notch health education programs which have garnered state and national recognition for their excellence. With these new resources, we can continue to maintain and even grow that level of excellence.”
Burns said large capital projects are hard and there are always growing pains as a team.
“When all the dust is settled after construction and we see the final outcome of our efforts, the Health Ed Building Additions and Renovations project will be a phenomenal success and will be something that not only our students and staff will be proud of, but the community as well,” he said.
