GHC will open its 55,000-square-foot, $20 million center on the Cartersville campus in fall 2012 and will include basketball/volleyball courts, an indoor running track, gameroom, student lounges, grab-and-go café, the campus bookstore, and a weight and cardio room. It will not house classrooms.
"I can tell you that everything is miraculously on time and budget. That so rarely happens," GHC Director of College Relations Dana Davis said in an email.
The center will be financed over a 30-year period through Wells Fargo, who sold bonds to investors to pay for construction. A $100 student fee will pay the debt.
"I give [the student body] a lot of credit for seeing the big picture of the institution and acting in the best interest of the college's future," President Randy Pierce said during this summer's groundbreaking. "That takes both maturity and generosity."
Pierce this fall announced his retirement effective Dec. 31.
The project currently underway at the CTC North Metro Campus includes the tearing down of the campus tower, renovating the existing auditorium in order to create a new entrance to building A and a 3,700-square-foot student activity center.
"This is a much needed renovation, as there is currently only a small room that is specifically designated as an area for students to gather, socialize and study," Public Relations Specialist Rebecca Long said in an email.
The new building will include an area for study groups, dining tables, vending machines and a television area. The entire facility will have wireless network coverage.
Plans for the renovation were finalized in early spring and the project is anticipated to be complete by April 2012. Prime Contractors Inc. of Douglasville is demolishing and renovating the campus for $830,000 and funds for the project came from the school's FY 2010 budget.
Vice President of Facilities David Simmons said the college previously planned for several expansions on its multiple campuses.
"In 2009, the college initiated a physical planning process that was to assess its current conditions and outline the physical implications of meeting its future needs," Simmons said in an email. "The plan looked at existing conditions of buildings, future trends, future enrollment, land use, building use and capital improvements.
"The Strategic Facilities Plan was to assess which campuses appeared to be at capacity, outline the college's total growth and needs, and gain a broad understanding of the implications that growth may have on our assets/real estate.
"[The student center] is included in that list, as was the renovation done to the exterior of the Horticulture building at the North Metro Campus."
Read The Daily Tribune News for updates on the centers.