Oakland Community College to spend $23 million revamping Southfield campus

Southfield is about to become a smarter place now that Oakland Community College is expanding its campus there.

The college plans to invest $25.3 million into its Southfield campus over the next 3.5 years. The money will help pay for everything from new lab areas to new classroom space, adding 69,000 square feet of space to the existing 92,000 square feet.

Among the improvements will be new state-of-the art science labs, double classrooms, space for nursing programs, physical education classes, a computer lab, student study areas, a testing center and an improved child-care center.
 
The improvements will help OCC satisfy the increased demand for education at its smallest campus. Southfield has experienced an 84.7 percent jump in enrollment over the past 10 years. The campus was originally designed to serve a maximum of 2,500 students yet enrolled 3,300 last fall.

The project will be paid for from revenue from a 0.8-mill property tax levy earmarked for facility improvements approved in 2001.

Source: Oakland Community College
Writer: Jon Zemke