Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Merced College Receives $3M Federal Grant for Renovations

  • By Matt Jones
  • 06/29/21

Merced College in Merced, Calif., was recently awarded with a $3-million construction and renovation grant by the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The college has announced that it will use this grant, in combination with the remaining 2002 Measure H Bond funds, to renovate the Vocational Building near the heart of campus.

Originally built in 1967, the two-story, 29,034-square-foot Vocational Building is home to the college’s business programs, as well as labs for computer science, administrative office management, drafting technology, accounting, and foods and nutrition. It also houses the International Student Services Office.

“We have a twofold mission to serve our students and to meet the needs of our community, and these projects are going to dramatically improve our ability to do both,” said Merced College President Chris Vitelli. “Our students and instructors are going to love the new spaces we’re creating for them, and our community will continue to benefit greatly from these career technical and instructional programs.”

Planned renovations include:

  • Modernizing interior labs and classrooms
  • Reconfiguring spaces to install programmatic functions
  • Updating HVAC systems
  • Adding new lighting and networking
  • Updating handrails, bathrooms, and drinking fountains with accessibility in mind
  • Replacing the roof system
  • Upgrading classroom technology
  • Adding new landscaping
  • Repainting the interior and exterior

Additionally, the remodeling project will also add a new culinary lab featuring a commercial kitchen.

“The new space will be a prominent fixture in the heart of the Merced campus, and will continue the college’s long tradition of educating and upskilling the local workforce,” said Bryan Tassey, the Dean of Career Technical Education.

The college is still developing a timeline for the project. Officials expressed hope that construction will begin next summer and finish by spring 2024.

“The EDA grant application was a yearlong process that involved gathering local industry, workforce development, and dignitary support,” said Marcus Metcalf, Director of Capital Projects and Construction. “Many parties were involved in the effort, and we are very grateful for the award of this federal grant.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • University of Oklahoma Announces New Campus Master Plan

    The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., recently announced that it will soon launch a new, comprehensive Campus Master Plan to guide the campus’ physical development during the next decade, according to a news release.

  • A digital silhouette works at a computer, immersed in a glowing, interconnected world

    How Will AI Transform Learning Space Design?

    For years, higher education has designed learning spaces around technology as a tool for display, capture, collaboration, and connectivity. AI changes that equation.

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.