Motlow State Community College Plans New Building

 By Trey Carter 

        SMYRNA, Tenn. – Motlow State Community College plans to add a third building to its Smyrna campus by spring 2019 that will offer more classes, programs and possibly a cafe space.

 Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. Cheryl Hyland provided details for this new building. The college’s funding is awaiting approval from the Tennessee Board of Regents. If approved, the building will be built west of the Science and Applied Technology Building. Also, Motlow would be required to raise 10 percent of the total cost for the building.

“I am tremendously excited to be able to expand academic programs and service delivery to serve in the community,” said Hyland.

            Rapid growth of the Tennessee Promise scholarship program has created the need for new space on the Smyrna campus. Some 1,038 students are taking advantage of the two free years provided by the State of Tennessee, a 52.87 percent increase over fall 2015. By 2025, the number of Tennessee Promise students is projected to grow to include 895 more students.

However, Hyland said the proposed building is not a direct result of the Tennessee Promise scholarship. The third building was planned many years ago, with the original master plan laid out before the college opened a campus in Smyrna. The current campus has approximately 2,800 students.   

            The new building will be focused on providing more classrooms and labs for new or already existing programs. The school is looking to add a new nursing program and many classes to go along with it. While plans have not been finalized for what rooms will be included, there is discussion about adding an auditorium, an art room, a cafe, and more labs for science classes.

The school is in search of a restaurant to go inside the new building. The majority of students should be pleased with the inclusion of an outside food vendor.

            If all goes as scheduled, the new building will be expected to break ground in 2017. Once started, the building will take a projected 15 to 18 months to complete.

With a new building, the school will be required to expand the amount of parking spaces on campus. One new building with approximately 80,000 gross square feet must have 750 new parking spaces to accommodate students.

            “A new building sounds great,” said Austin Kraner, a Motlow student. “The campus will definitely need the space once new students come in.”

            For more information about Motlow State Community College, visit www.mscc.edu. 

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