Second phase of ACC Highland campus opens in Central Austin

Students were able to take their first classes at Phase 2 of the newly renovated ACC Highland campus in Austin on Jan. 19, according to a news release from the Austin Community College District.

A highlight of the new facility is the district’s 28,000-square-foot culinary arts wing, which includes a skills kitchen, a demo room, and Eatery 73, a student-run restaurant that will be open to the public in the future.

According to Stephanie Herrington, a chef and the chair of the ACC District's Culinary Arts Department, the department previously operated in a 6,800-square-foot space, and with 350 culinary students currently attending the college, the new facility will allow the program to be expanded in the future.

ACC Highland Phase 2 will also host classes for the college’s dance, drama, music, radio, television, architectural and engineering departments.

According to the district, Phase 2 cost $152.8 million to renovate and totals 415,000 square feet. The campus also gives the district the capacity to add 14,000 new students.

ACC Highland will continue to be renovated in the future—three additional buildings are scheduled to be added in the coming years. ACC Highland Phase 1, which opened in 2017, was the first step to reimagining the former Highland Mall as an educational facility.