Orange County, CA, (February 26, 2021) LA TIMES
When classes resume in-person at Coastline College's Fountain Valley campus, students will have a place to head to for a reprieve from their bustling schedules at the new student service center.
Construction on the project is expected to be completed by the fall of 2022. It will replace the center constructed in 1983. Campus officials said in a news release Thursday that the project is expected to be two-stories and 53,000 square-feet in total.
The cost of construction is estimated to be about $35 million, according to Christine Nguyen, the vice president of administrative services at Coastline College.
It is funded by Measure M, a $698-million bond measure for Coast Community College District passed by district voters in 2012 for facility rehabilitation and construction.
"The new student services center will be more than just a building," said Loretta Adrian, the president of Coastline College in a video presentation released Friday morning. "It will be a place where students feel invited, supported and valued. A place that will be easy for them to navigate as they pursue their academic and career goals."
Plans for the student services center were approved by the Coast Community College District Board of trustees in 2019.
"We in the Coast [Community College] District find a way, perhaps this year more than any other," said John Weispfenning, the chancellor for the district. "The Fountain Valley student services center will provide a human connection needed by so many, including those who attend primarily online."
"Buildings are gathering places for human beings who share in a common cause and join in a common work. As we're all aware, we have missed our gathering points across these past several months," Weispfenning said. "By the time this project is completed, the pandemic will be a memory."
"The future will be thankful that even in 2020, we found the resolve to break new ground and build strong foundations," he added.