Watertown— Jefferson Community College is constantly looking for ways to grow and expand in order to best serve the needs of the community.
Plans to build residence halls at JCC are already underway, a $20 million project set to begin this Spring and will be ready for use by the fall of 2014. Although a two-year community college, JCC has been able to provide Bachelor and Master degree programs through partnerships.
Suny Potsdam is one partnership program, which offers a Bachelor degree in Business and a Master’s in Education. “JCC has been looking to expand, hoping to build a facility for higher education, a field house as well as an event center,” said Carole A. McCoy, president of Jefferson Community College. “At the moment, we don’t have enough room to expand some of our own programs, as well as our partnership programs.”
Paradigm Economics was contracted in June 2012 to evaluate the community interest in and the economic feasibility of the College developing a new multi-purpose facility. The College, which is in the midst of developing its next 5-year strategic plan, will use the report data to help determine and prioritize opportunities for expanding and upgrading educational, athletic and recreational facilities on campus.
According to President McCoy, building the multi-purpose facility would provide economic benefits to the community. The Project would create jobs not only in construction, but manager positions to help run the building and additional instructor and professor positions.
The new multi-purpose building would be utilized in the following ways:
· Expanding JCC 2-year programs as well as partnership programs, which offers BA and MA degrees.
· Athletic events
o Including community based events such as youth camps for kids and etc.
· Ticketed events
o Concerts & shows
Specifically, Paradigm Economics investigated the feasibility of a $44.3 million complex that would include a $12.3 million higher education center, $7 million field house and $25 million events center. In general, the study determined that the multi-purpose complex is financially feasible and is perceived as adding value to the region. The College plans to use this information to build upon its existing facilities master plan, which already includes a higher education center building and field house.
“At these early stages, we are really still digesting all the information contained within the study,” said McCoy. “The higher education center building and athletics field house are already included in the College’s facilities master plan which will also be updated following our strategic planning process. This report, and in particular the events center information, will help us as we plan for the future and investigate ways that the College can augment the resources already available in our community.”
