EL CAJON, Calif. (CNS) - Grossmont College broke ground Thursday on the second phase of a $36.2 million science, math and career technology complex, which will house a new Veterans Resource Center.
The project will expand classroom, lab and office spaces for programs including physical geography and oceanography, human geography and social sciences, math and geology.
Governing Board President Brad Monroe thanked East County taxpayers for supporting Proposition V, the 2012 bond measure financing the new building and other construction and renovation projects at Grossmont and Cuyamaca colleges.
"This building will demonstrate to the community that their investment in our college district through the passage of Proposition V was well spent," he said. "This building will serve tens of thousands of students in the years to come."
Interim Grossmont College President Marsha Gable said she is excited about the new space for veterans, which will be a center providing counseling, tutoring and a social space for the college's student veteran population.
"With a prime location on Griffin Drive, the new Veterans Resource Center will be an easily accessible space for Grossmont College to help hundreds of former and active military, reservists and their dependents reach their educational goals," Gable said.
The event was livestreamed on the college's YouTube channel.
Lynn Neault, chancellor of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, said the new center is a milestone project updating a cluster of aging buildings in need of renovation and reconstruction to accommodate new technology and other student needs. It is targeted for completion by spring 2023.
Phase 1 of the project, which was completed in spring 2020, included the full renovation and replacement of Building 31, which now houses the Administration of Justice program and Child Development Center.
Other major projects on the Grossmont and Cuyamaca College campuses being funded by Proposition V include the Performing and Visual Arts Center at Grossmont College, with a ribbon-cutting scheduled for May 20; a Student Services Building at Cuyamaca College that broke ground in February; and a renovation underway of the Ornamental Horticulture complex at Cuyamaca College.
