WCC exploring downtown Ann Arbor campus options
Elizabeth Ross
Managing Editor
eross4@wccnet.edu If you’re feeling a little claustrophobic on campus this Fall, it might not be just your imagination. “The way the economy is, our enrollment is growing like an out of control weed,” WCC President Larry Whitworth said. To handle the growth, administrators were con sidering leasing space in a building on Liberty and Williams in downtown Ann Arbor – a project that was put “on-hold” in recent days, according to Whitworth. But before postponing the project, Whitworth was optimistic about the idea. “It would be a starting point for a campus in downtown Ann Arbor,” Whitworth said. “But it would be more like a campus village where you would have different spaces, utilizing a number of different spaces that we would find in the downtown area.” Roger Palay, vice president of Instruction, thinks that having space in downtown Ann Arbor is a good idea for the college. He didn’t think the building being considered is a good fit for WCC, though. Part of Palay’s concern about that particular space is the building’s “narrow, twisty stairs” and small elevators that could be accessed by anyone using the parking structure that’s located at the top of the building. Leasing space is a better idea for WCC than constructing a building, said Damon Flowers, associate vice president of Facilities Development and Operations. Flowers said the space WCC was looking at was only slightly smaller than the Business Education (BE) building. In 1995, BE cost $4 million to build; today that number would jump to $9 million, Flowers explained. “In this environment of higher ed, buildings are a liability, not an asset,” Flowers said, noting that maintenance, utilities and staff are building costs to be considered. “You build a building for $9 million, it’s there. It doesn’t go away.”
