Groundbreaking ceremony for new SCC campus

The Solano County Community College District will hold a groundbreaking ceremony 4 p.m. Wednesday to dedicate the site for the new Vallejo Center, on Columbus Parkway east of Ascot Parkway.

The new branch will be built on a 100-acre site and will not open for about two years. The facility will be paid for by Measure G, a $124.5 million bond voters passed in 2002. The Vallejo Center will be 4.5 times bigger than the current Vallejo campus, located within the JFK Library complex, and will offer more courses.

College President Paulette Perfumo, members of the governing board, elected officials, community members and Rosemary Thurston, wife of the late School Board Trustee Bill Thurston, will be on hand during the groundbreaking ceremony.

The first phase of the campus includes 33,000-useable square feet of classrooms, science, computer and learning laboratories, an art classroom, auditorium, and multi-use room serving physical education, dance and theater programs. Parking and outdoor spaces will also be provided.

The total cost of the Vallejo Center is estimated to be $11.6 million. The administration buildings will be named after former trustee Thurston, who died in July. He was instrumental in the passage of Measure G.