Southern Maine college slates $50M overhaul

SOUTH PORTLAND – Southern Maine Community College is planning a $50 million overhaul that calls for new and renovated academic buildings, a 240-bed dormitory and 300 more parking spaces.

The project, which could begin this fall, will take place over a decade and is expected to address the college’s rapid growth. Officials said it would eliminate a waiting list for on-campus housing and repair aging buildings that have leaky roofs and outdated equipment.

“We have almost 1,000 more students than we had a year ago. Growth has really been pushing it,” SMCC President James Ortiz said.

All seven community colleges in Maine are putting together plans for building and renovation projects over the next decade. The board of trustees of the Maine Community College System will review all the plans this fall.

At SMCC, the undertaking is expected to cost $50 million to $60 million.

Early projects would include repairs to existing buildings, renovation of six science labs and construction of four new labs, Ortiz said. Students in SMCC’s construction program would build a new day-care facility for students in the early childhood education program.

Work over the next five years, Ortiz said, should include converting the campus rotunda that currently houses the day-care program into a new dining hall. The old dining hall would be converted into classrooms. Construction would begin on a new dorm around the same time.

The final projects include construction of three new buildings, one for the marine science and plant and soil technology programs and two for the applied trade and technology programs.

The college already has $300,000 in federal funding and $4.2 million from a bond package that Maine voters approved last November.

Ortiz said the college will do fund-raising, look for further state borrowing and consider revenue bonds paid with housing fees from the new dorm.

Alice Kirkpatrick, director of public affairs for the Maine Community College System, said a tuition increase at the seven schools would not be tied directly to building projects on the campuses. But system officials would consider a tuition hike as they look at the overall financial demands of Maine’s community colleges, she said.

“The needs continue to grow. It is a big issue for us,” she said.