The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
$4M RENOVATION COMING TO MCCC
POTTSTOWN >> A renovation of the first floor of the South Hall building of Montgomery County Community College on College Drive has been approved by the state, which also will pay half the cost.
The estimated cost for the project is $4,225,000.
“The West Campus is a high priority for the college,” said Victoria Bastecki-Perez, interim president and provost of the college, who was appointed in July after college president Kevin Pollock decided against renewing his contract.
She said the Pennsylvania Department of Education will cover $2.9 million of the cost and Montgomery County will pay the remaining amount.
Bastecki-Perez explained that the project, as envisioned, will re-organize the first floor to improve and integrate student services, programs, clubs and improved space for high school students and community partners.
“Right now, they are located in different places all over the building, and we want to created an integrated and dedicated space,” said Phil Needles, vice president of student services at the college.
The front entrance will also be re-designed to improve handicapped access, BasteckiPerez said.
To get state approval, the project had to be ranked
highly by all of the Commonwealth’s community college presidents, said Charlies Somers, vice president of finance and administration for the college.
Bastecki-Perez said the project is part of the college’s master plan. “We want to make this part of the campus more forward facing for the community,” she said.
The next step will be for the college to issue requests for proposals from architects, with a selection being made in November.
Construction would begin in the summer of 2020, said Somers.
South Hall was opened in 1996 after a successful lobbying effort by Pottstown to convince the county commissioners to open its second campus here.
The original campus is located in Blue Bell.
South Hall, located at 101 College Drive, was the first of what are now four buildings comprising the West Campus.
That campus now also includes North Hall, a once-vacant knitting mill on High Street, that boasts the region’s largest art gallery; the Sustainability and Innovation Hub at 140 College Dr. in Riverfront Park, once a PECO sub-station and also the home of the Schuylkill River Heritage Association; and the Workforce Development Center, located in a vintage freight rail station on South Hanover Street.
From one building to four, West Campus has grown to service more than 2,000 students and hosts many of the college’s fastest growing programs.
“I want to thank the Wolf administration for their approval of these community college projects and look forward to seeing more investments in education here and around the state,” state Rep. Joe Ciresi, D-146th Dist., said in a joint statement issued to announce the funding.
“It’s important that we take a keen interest in our students and ensure that they have all of the tools they need to succeed and fill the job roles across the state that are waiting for them,” Ciresi said.
“This substantial investment in our own community college will offset construction costs and renovations, serving to allow greater investment in our students’ education,” said state Rep. Liz Hanbridge, D-61st. Dist.
The infrastructure and facilities of our educational institutions are pivotal to ensuring students enter an environment where they can learn to their full potential.”