Norwich —
Three Rivers
Community College is
expected to soon
receive the bulk of
the state money it
needs to fund an
expansive
reconstruction
project that will
combine its two
campuses.
The State Bond
Commission is
expected to approve
more than $76.1
million for the
project when it
meets Dec. 8,
according to a press
release issued
Thursday by Gov. M.
Jodi Rell's office.
The total state cost
of the Three Rivers
project is $85.6
million.
“We think that's
wonderful,” Joseph
S. Anderson Jr.,
Three Rivers dean of
administration, said
upon hearing the
news Thursday.
Anderson said the
college has received
a completed design
from its architects
and has put the
project out to bid.
He said the bid is
“in the process of”
being awarded to O&G
Industries Inc.,
based in Torrington,
with construction
administration to be
done by Skanska USA,
headquartered in New
Jersey.
The project
should start
sometime in January,
Anderson said.
The plan will
consolidate the
Mohegan and Thames
Valley campuses at
the latter's New
London Turnpike
location. The state
Board of Trustees
for Community
Colleges approved
the site and funding
for the project in
2003.
The project
includes the
renovation of about
101,000 square feet
of existing space
and the construction
of another 190,000
square feet of new
buildings that will
replace all of the
college's labs.
The college will
include a new
learning resources
center, library
complex, faculty
offices, a new
multi-purpose room
and a new cafeteria,
which will include a
teaching kitchen for
the college's
culinary arts
program. A new
fitness center means
the college may
incorporate physical
fitness programs
into its overall
curriculum, Anderson
said.
The consolidation
project has been in
the works for about
19 years. The state
agreed in 1987 to
expand the former
Mohegan Community
College by 40,000
square feet, a
project that was put
on hold when the
state community and
technical college
systems were merged
and Three Rivers
Community College
was created.
The consolidation
of the campuses was
debated until the
trustees chose the
Thames Valley campus
as the consolidation
site in 2003.
“We happen to be
the last of the
community colleges
to receive this type
of support, so it's
been a long time
coming,” Anderson
said.
One percent of
the fees, he said,
will go towards art.
The Connecticut
Commission on Art is
looking for someone
to do the artwork at
the revamped
college, Anderson
said.
The overall
project also
includes a
conversion of the
Mohegan campus to a
technical high
school. Norwich
Technical High
School, now located
on the New London
Turnpike campus,
will be relocated to
the Mohegan campus
on Mahan Drive.
Funding for that
project is separate
from the Three
Rivers funding.
