Juan Salinas II
campus editor
Redevelopment of NW is ahead of schedule and is expected to have the framework for buildings one and two finished by January, according to NW project director Daniel Stewart.
Last year, the board of trustees unanimously approved a $105 million contract with Skanska USA for construction on the first two of four new buildings that will constitute the core of the campus. The project, budgeted at $308 million, is part of the $825 million bond program authorized by the voters of Tarrant County in 2019, according to a TCC press release.
Of the $308 million, $53.5 million of that has already been spent, according to vice-chancellor emeritus Bill Lace.
“Through this redevelopment, we are making improvements to how students experience our institution,” NW Campus president Zarina Blankenbaker said. “The ‘3 Goals and 8 Principles’ represent the convergence of our collective work to reimagine who we are, will be, and what it means to serve in excellence.”
The proposed plan would replace all NW’s current buildings, making room for the new buildings.
“I’m sure I will shed a few tears when WTLO and the library are torn down,” said Jim Baxter, assistant director of library services. “I fell in love with our library when I was a student here in the fall of 1980.”
Building one and two are projected to be finished by 2023, while the entire project is projected to be completed by December 2025.
“We’re going to have a fantastic new campus — one that everyone in Tarrant County can be proud of, and one that will serve our community well for many years to come,” Baxter said.
Building WADM, which was an NW administrative building, was removed earlier this year.
“I had to move before it could be demolished,” said Ryan Ferguson, acting director of academic affairs. “There was also a period of time when the sidewalk between WHPE and WBSA could not be used.”
Ferguson explained that there was no way to go from WCTS to WHPE quickly, and people would have to go around the campus perimeter. But this inconvenience didn’t affect students because this happened before all campuses reopened in August.
“COVID actually helped with construction as it was much easier to navigate campus and take down areas for infrastructure installation that weren’t being used during that time,” Stewart said.
The goal of the project is to make NW more modern, flexible and accessible for students.
Building one will contain early college high school, art, music and general-purpose classrooms while building two will have the majority of student development services and a student gathering atrium.
NW Veterans Counselor Bill Alexander is excited about the new open concept.
“We are continuing to connect with our community partners in meaningful ways that create an affordable vehicle for which students use to change the economic landscape, transforming their lives and the lives of their families and our community,” Alexander said.
