Berkeley City College in Berkeley, California, will break ground this month on a $101 million building that will double the footprint of the campus.
Berkeleyside reports that the 60,000-square-foot, six-story building will be the community college’s first major expansion in 20 years. It will have 15 new classrooms, a library, a student wellness center, as well as staff and faculty offices.
Since 2006, the college has been limited to a five-story building with a glass facade. As it expanded, the city college began renting a nearby building to accommodate its new programs.
The new building will have two art studios, a communications classroom and lab and an anthropology classroom. Its classrooms will be equipped with technology for hybrid learning, so students will be able to attend classes in person or online.
It will also have a learning resource center, where students can get support from peers and staff on coursework, and a wellness center for free mental health services.
Funding for the $101 million expansion comes from Measure G, an $800 million facilities bond for the Peralta Community College District approved by voters in 2018.
The expansion comes at a time of depressed student enrollment in community colleges nationwide. Berkeley City College's enrollment dropped during the pandemic, though not as steeply as at other colleges. Since 2021, enrollment has ticked upward, at about 5% per year.
Before 2006, Berkeley City College had no centralized campus, with classrooms spread throughout Berkeley and Oakland.
The college expects that students will be able to being using the building by December 2025.
