Collin College Trustees and administrators start the digging on the expansion at the Central Park Campus Aug. 28.

When trustees of the Collin College Board are in hardhats, you know something big is happening.

That was the scene at the Central Park Campus Aug. 28 as the board broke ground on an expansion of the college’s first campus, which will include a new library, a clock tower, a grassy quadrangle, state-of-the-art classrooms and labs and more.

“We’re undertaking the rebuilding of this campus to make it the campus we want it to be,” Dr. J. Robert Collins, Board Chairman, said in regards to making the McKinney campus comprehensive in its course offerings. “We live in a fast-changing, competitive economic environment. It’s important to have a campus like this and have an innovative college like Collin College in order to stay ahead.”

The expansion is expected to take 18 months, which is pretty understandable considering the breadth of the undertaking:

·         A 73,000-square-foot Jeffersonian-style library and classroom building.

·         About 20,000 square feet in student development and bookstore space.

·         Four new science labs and a surgical technology lab.

·         A parking garage

·         A clock tower

·         The current library will be converted in to classrooms and offices. It will also be home to the Learning and Enhanced Academic Performance (LEAP) Center for students to receive assistance in algebra, biology, physics, chemistry, writing and more.  

"We are very anxious to get started on this project, so students and the community can enjoy the results," Cary Israel, college president, said. "We are expanding throughout the district, but without a doubt, this project is the largest and most complex undertaking in recent years. When construction on this campus is complete, our students will not only have more room for classes but they will also feel that they are attending a beautiful, intimate college campus."

The campus was opened in 1986 and it currently offers core courses and houses the college’s allied health, law enforcement and fire science programs.

“Collin College is a big asset towards training people that are going to be in these industries,” Bob Whitfield, McKinney mayor, said citing the nursing, fire science and law enforcement.