Los Medanos College Breaks Ground for New Student Union and Physical Education Facilities


 

On Tuesday, October 17, 2017, Los Medanos College held a ground-breaking ceremony and celebration for the college’s long awaited student union and physical education facilities. Set for completion in August 2019, both buildings have been in the planning stages for a number of years, and will come to fruition with funding from local bond measures and student fees.

 

Contra Costa Community College District Chancellor Fred Wood stated, “This is a great day for LMC. These facilities are particularly critically important for the role they will play as a student union and a physical education or kinesiology complex. They will help create a rich environment for students to engage with other students. Many thanks to the voters of Contra Costa County for their support of higher education in our communities.”

 

Rendering of the Student Union Building
Student Union Building North View Rendering from Campus


The new student union will host the college’s bookstore, food services area, student lounge, a 485-seat community conference center, offices and meeting space for the Office of Student Life and Associated Students (LMCAS, student government), a large social gathering place for student clubs, as well as a meeting place for up to four learning communities.

 

The new physical education complex will include two dance and fitness studios, a dedicated athletics workout room, a large combined weight and cardio room, two classrooms, faculty/staff offices, student locker rooms, team sport locker rooms, a large equipment storage room and an athletics trainer room.

 

rendering of the Physical Education Complex
Rendering of the Physical Education Complex


David Belman, Dean of Student Success explained, “Today’s groundbreaking was a fantastic milestone for LMC. While a lot of today’s celebration has focused on well-deserved praise of the numerous individuals, groups, and organizations that have contributed to the planning, design and building of the facilities, I think it is also important to recognize the significant accomplishment and investment by students. It was LMCAS (student government) who in 2002 (15 years ago!) led the effort to first vision the importance and role of the Student Union building, and who also successfully facilitated a large student-body election that approved the Student Union fee. Likewise, equally important to the significant investment that citizens of the Contra Costa County have made in these projects through Bond Measures A and E, is the financial investment that thousands of students have made for the past 15 years through the student union fee. Most of the students who have invested in this building so far knew they would not still be at LMC to utilize the facility itself, but valued enough the importance of having a space like the Student Union to build community and facilitate student learning and engagement, that they were will to invest.”

 

View a larger slide show of the ground breaking ceremony

 

Marco McMullen, LMC student and LMCAS President, spoke at the ceremony, “Thanks to our amazing administration, we now have an opportunity to become closer as a community with this building. My vision for the future is to have a place where we, as students, can stay here on campus and indulge ourselves, pursue our academic studies and connect with each other in a safe, welcoming and inclusive space. This will be an ideal space for LMC, which has been recently acknowledged as one of the best community colleges in the nation.”

 

 

 


Los Medanos College (LMC) is one of three colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District. LMC prepares students to excel and succeed economically, socially and intellectually in an innovative, engaging and supportive learning environment. It provides quality programs and state-of-the-art facilities to serve the needs of a rapidly growing and changing East County while enhancing the quality of life of the diverse communities it serves. LMC is located on 120 acres between Pittsburg and Antioch, with an additional education center in Brentwood.