Following voter approval of a $425 million bond referendum in November 2015, progress on infrastructure updates and new facilities on each of the San Jacinto College campuses has begun, with four more buildings set for groundbreaking this fall.
“We are pleased with the progress being made to date on the 2015 bond referendum projects, said Bryan Jones, San Jacinto College associate vice chancellor for facilities services. “Much of the work has been focused on infrastructure and campus security, so residents and taxpayers in the District will begin to see structures taking shape on each of the campuses in the near future.”
CENTRAL CAMPUS
On the Central Campus, the new 145,000 square foot Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technologyis taking shape on the edge of the campus along Fairmont Parkway. When it opens in 2019 it will be the premier petrochemical training facility for industry, designed by industry. The Center will house programs in process technology, instrumentation, electrical technology, non-destructive testing and craft trades. The Center will include adequate space to teach credit students and incumbent workers to meet the needs of the growing workforce and economy along the Texas Gulf Coast. An 8,000-square-foot exterior glycol process unit will be available to every program that trains in the building.
“From the beginning stages of planning, industry has had a seat at the table for the vision, the design and the curriculum of the Center,” said Jim Griffin, associate vice chancellor / senior vice president for the College’s petrochemical training division. “This facility will ensure that San Jacinto College produces graduates with the right skill sets to meet the workforce needs.”
The architect on the Center is IBI Group, and Tellepsen Builders is the contractor. The total cost of the Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology is $60 million. For more information, visit sanjac.edu/CPET.
Set to break ground this fall on the Central Campus is a new welcome center. The centralized location will provide students with 43,000-square-feet of easy access to student and career resources. The new building will provide a spacious, technologically-advanced facility for enrollment services, advising, financial aid, tutoring and other related services. The total cost for the building is $16.6 million. Page Architects is the architect of record and Tellepsen Builders is the contractor. A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for Friday, October 19, 2018, at 8 a.m., and the building is expected to open summer 2019.
NORTH CAMPUS
The San Jacinto College North Campus is set to break ground on a cosmetology / culinary arts center. The official groundbreaking date is Friday, Sept. 21, 2018, at 8 a.m. Huitt-Zollars is the architect on the project, with Tellepsen Builders the contractor.
The 57,000-square-foot facility at a cost of $22.3 million will house the College’s culinary arts and North Campus cosmetology programs. The building will provide the latest in updated classrooms and state-of-the-art labs to enhance workforce training for students entering the cosmetology and culinary fields. The cosmetology / culinary arts center is scheduled to open fall 2019.
Last year the College opened the new Center for Industrial Technologyon the North Campus. This 113,000-square-foot facility was not part of the 2015 bond proposal, but instead funded through alternate sources. The modern facility is home to the College’s welding, pipefitting, diesel technology, international business and logistics, electrical technology and HVACR (heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration) programs. It provides the necessary and modern training facilities needed to keep pace with growing workforce needs in these fields.
SOUTH CAMPUS
Significant infrastructure and site improvements have been well underway on the San Jacinto College South Campus. While these improvements are not visible to the passerby, they continue to be worked on for an improved on-campus experience.
What soon will be visible to the community is the construction of two new buildings on the South Campus. The first is a 74,000-square-foot Center for Engineering and Technology. According to the Texas Workforce Commission, the need for engineers in all disciplines along the Texas Gulf Coast is expected to increase through 2024. In a January 2018 report from WalletHub.com, Houston was ranked 21ston the list of best cities in the U.S. for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) jobs.
The new Center for Engineering and Technology at San Jacinto College will house programs in engineering, engineering technology, biomedical equipment repair technology, engineering design graphics, electronics, and computer information technology. A groundbreaking for the $27.7 million facility is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 5, 2018 at 8 a.m. The architect on the project is Kirksey, and the contractor is Tellepsen Builders. The Center is expected to open in September 2019.
The demand for qualified engineers in the Houston region remains high. The Greater Houston Partnershipsays that among metro areas with at least 15,000 engineers, Houston has the fifth highest concentration of engineers in the United States. Overall, Houston metro has the third largest number of engineers in the country.
The San Jacinto College engineering program has seen a 108 percent enrollment increase since the 2015 semester. The College’s associate degree allows students to seamlessly transfer to a university engineering program, and holds articulation agreements with the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, Texas Tech University and University of Texas at Tyler.
Also set for construction this fall at the South Campus is the cosmetology center. This is a $15.8 million project for a new 39,300-square-foot facility that will provide the latest in updated classrooms and modern labs to enhance the workforce training for those interested in a cosmetology career. The groundbreaking is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 7, 2018 at 8 a.m., and the building is anticipated to be completed late summer 2019. Huitt-Zollars is the architect on the building and Brookstone is the contractor.
“We are grateful to the voters and taxpayers in our district who approved the bond referendum in 2015,” said Dr. Brenda Hellyer, San Jacinto College Chancellor. “We are committed to providing the right space for learning for our students and we remain dedicated to being the leading workforce training partner for the region’s growing economy and industries.”
To follow the progress of the 2015 bond projects, visit the San Jacinto College bond updates website.
