Macon
Campus bid accepted
Southwestern
Community College moved one step closer to realization
of an SCC Macon Campus July 14 when the college’s
board of trustees awarded a $5.8 million contract for
construction of the proposed facility.
Proposed SCC Macon Campus |
Low
bidder Perry Bartsch Jr. Construction Company of Asheville
received the contract on the 27,568 square-foot building
and will begin construction within 30 to 45 days. The
anticipated completion is August 2006, according to
project manager George Stanley.
Funding
for the new campus, to be situated on 20 acres on Siler
Road off U.S. 441 North in Franklin, was secured with
$2.9 from state monies and $2.9 million in local dollars.
Bowers, Ellis and Watson, an architectural firm in Asheville,
designed the state-of-the-art facility.
Bartsch
also received the bid on the Macon County Library,which
will be located next to the new SCC center. Because
of the collaborative relationship that will exist between
the library and the college (the library will also serve
as the college’s library in Macon County), designs
for the two buildings were created to compliment each
other.
“This is a great day
for Southwestern Community College and the start
of a great campus in Macon County,” SCC board
chairman Conrad Burrell said Thursday, July 14,
as bids were awarded for the new Macon Campus. From
left, SCC President Cecil Groves; Mike Watson, architect
with Bowers, Ellis and Watson; George Stanley, project
manager; SCC board vice chairman Pete Penland and
Burrell review the bid specs. |
“The
SCC Macon Campus represents the beginning of a joint
venture between SCC and Macon County,” SCC president
Cecil Groves stated after the bid was awarded. “We
have worked closely with the Commissioners and other
interested individuals and groups in Macon County to
provide a campus on which residents of the county could
earn a college education close to home. We want people
in Macon County to feel this is their college. The new
campus will provide them with all the learning processes
they and their kids will need for the future and we
appreciate the commissioners for making this possible.”
The
Macon Campus will house curriculums in criminal justice,
early childhood, business administration, college transfer,
real estate, and a pre-health science track. In addition,
a learning assistance center will be located in the
building and there will be strong continuing education
offerings.
“We’re
doing something very different here. This campus will
truly be a higher education center through which we
will also eventually align with other colleges and universities
to offer classes on our site.” Groves said. “Someday
we believe Macon County residents will be able to earn
not only a two year associate degree in their home county,
they will also be able to earn a four year degree. If
you’re serious about education, this is where
you will go. If you want to be prepared for the future,
this is where you’ll go. If you want to work with
the latest technology, with the best learning tools
this is where you’ll go. If you want to teach
in the finest facilities, this is where you’ll
teach.”
Groves
went on to say that the SCC Macon Campus represents
the beginning of the realization of a larger dream SCC
and Macon County envision that includes an educational/learning/recreational
complex for the people of Macon County.
“We
are fortunate to have this land to develop together
in Macon County. It’s a beautiful piece of property
with 70 acres of buildable land on which the college
can eventually expand with sites for five other buildings.
It is interesting to note that most areas are developed
by chance but we have the opportunity here to develop
a whole concept and what an exciting concept it is.
In addition to our Macon Campus and the library, the
county recreation park and the Macon County Greenway
are nearby. With little effort, the SCC Macon Campus,
the library, the recreation park and the river walk
can be linked and can compliment each other. Also, there
is potential for commercial ventures nearby that would
enhance greatly both the economic and educational potential
for the site,” he said.
According
to Groves, SCC representatives, Macon county representatives,
and private individuals are seeking ways to bring creative
and capital resources together toward this shared vision.
“The
people of Macon County are wonderful to work with,”
he said. “They are as excited as we are about
the potential before us.”
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