WCC looking to expand – but not on campus
Editor
Washtenaw Community College administrators want to expand classes in Ann Arbor beyond Huron River Drive. But with multiple options, they’re trying to decide what would work best for students.
President Larry Whitworth said the college is still looking at leasing space downtown near Liberty and Williams, a location it has been considering for months.
Another option, one Whitworth called “a brand new development,” is using space in one of the former Pfizer buildings that are now owned by the University of Michigan.
“There’s two million square feet over there,” Whitworth said, noting UM approached him to see if WCC would be interested in the space. “We do have a meeting set up with the University of Michigan to discuss the Pfizer facility with the notion that there ought to be, within that two million square feet, room for some classrooms and maybe some spaces that would be readily adaptable to some science labs.”
Whitworth said any space would probably not be ready for the Fall semester.
“I think we do need to have a plan in place here in the next year or so on how we handle the growth of the campus,” he said.
While constructing another building on campus is always an option, Whitworth said it’s not a good one.
“There’s a lot of existing space that’s vacant,” he said. “Why would we start building brand new buildings when there’s literally millions of square feet within our community that are vacant that could be repurposed? It’s just an issue of practicality and efficiency. It doesn’t really work all that well for us to do it here; it’d be a lot more expensive.”
The issue of a campus expansion is on the agenda for discussion at the Board of Trustee’s March retreat. Whitworth noted an official decision can’t be made unless it’s at a public board meeting.
There’s a chance the board may decide not to act at this time due to concerns about parking, access, cost and location at every option they’ve considered, he acknowledged.
“We’re not going to make a decision to move forward until we are reasonably assured that we have a handle on a solution to all those problems,” Whitworth said.
Recent Comments