Bond Projects Move Forward

Supporters of the Connect NC Bond will soon start seeing results at Beaufort County Community College’s campus. The highest priority for the campus was to increase accessibility of the campus to people with disabilities. A second, and considerably larger, undertaking is the Emergency Training and Workforce Complex. Both projects are moving through the planning process.

The accessibility project will update frequently used doors with push buttons. While all BCCC buildings are accessible, not every door has a push button, meaning that students sometimes have to seek another entrance. This project will affect Buildings 1, 5 and 9.

The project will also create road crossings and sidewalk improvements to help people move around campus safely and efficiently. The contract for the design of the sidewalk improvements has been awarded to JKF Architecture, the same firm that constructed the digital welcome sign. The construction contract has been awarded to A.R. Chesson Construction.

“While all of our buildings are up to code, we want to go beyond that so that our students with disabilities can get to their classes using the most direct route,” said Jason Squires, director of campus operations.

“Our campus was laid out and built over the course of 50 years. Much of the construction took place before there was consideration as to the mobility needs of students with disabilities,” said college president Dr. Dave Loope. “These projects will allow us to connect our buildings together in a more appropriate and thoughtful way.”

As part of the accessibility project, BCCC is repairing both of its elevators on campus. The elevator in Building 1 was overhauled by Southern Elevator in the spring, while the one in Building 5 has had initial repairs, but required the elevator shaft be resealed before repairs can continue. College officials hope to have the repairs complete by early August.

“Sometimes the initial planning and bidding process on these projects takes time because we are working with bond funds,” said Squires. “Once they get through those initial hurdles, the upgrades will happen quickly.”

The much larger Emergency Training and Workforce Complex is currently in the design phase. Stewart-Cooper-Newell Architects is designing both the driving pad and the building for the complex. The firm was chosen by the BCCC Board of Trustees because of its experience building emergency services complexes.

“This emergency training complex will really fulfill a regional need,” said Loope. “We’re confident that Stewart-Cooper-Newell will take our vision for the complex and give us the design we’re looking for.”

In 2016, North Carolina voters passed the Connect NC Bond to support facilities upgrades at universities, colleges and state parks. BCCC proposed a slate of projects totaling $6.5 million that are now working their way through the implementation process.

Prior to the passage of the bond, Beaufort County and the BCCC Foundation purchased 13 acres of farmland adjacent to BCCC for use by public safety programs. Since the purchase, the college has built the Fire Training Facility and conducted extraction exercises for vehicular collisions. The Connect NC Bond will fund the construction of a driving pad for emergency vehicle driver training and a new building for emergency personnel training.