Hospitality and Culinary Academy to have their own building by Fall 2014
By Rachel Luchmun
A new building housing the Hospitality and Culinary Academy will be ready by Fall 2014. The building will be on campus and feature more space for the expanding enrollment rates.
The plan for the new building came about after a donation of $750,000 from Senator David Wysong. He challenged the academy to raise funds for the new building.
Lindy Robinson, dean of Business, said they had raised approximately $3 million in 14 months.
“We approached private donors, we gave presentations,” Robinson said. “We had strong financial support from almost everybody. We approached alumni, employers, different sources within the community.”
The new building will provide a much needed upgrade in terms of size, from 11,000 square feet to 36,000 square feet.
“Enrollment in these programs is strong,” Robinson said. “The current building is almost maxed out.”
Student Courtney Protzman said the new building would be an improvement.
“[The current facility] is a very tight space,” Protzman said. “There are no real other issues. I think a bigger room for the kitchen will be great.”
President Terry Calaway said the college had been putting aside money for some time.
“The college receives some funding for capital, and we have been putting some of that aside,” Calaway said. “We did not want to take out loans. This is not money from tuition but from county levy.”
Calaway said the new building was needed to help the program to continue growing.
“My main concern is safety,” Calaway said. “There is hot water, knives, in a small space. Sometimes we can renovate, sometimes it means starting over with a new building.”
The Hospitality and Culinary Academy has been offering programs for 27 years. It is well known in the community and nationwide through numerous competitions.
“This is a world-class program currently in a second-rate facility,” Calaway said.
The new building will be situated on campus, but the exact location will be discussed at the next Board of Trustees meeting.
The first floor of the OCB building, where the Hospitality and Culinary programs are currently housed, will be renovated into classrooms and lounge areas.
“There are not many places around campus for students to relax in a social setting,” Calaway said. “There is the student lounge in the commons building and the cafeteria but nothing else.”
The construction of the new building will start when the weather breaks in spring next year. The building should be finished by summer 2013 and be operational by fall 2014.
Contact Rachel Luchmun, staff reporter, at rluchmun@jccc.edu.
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