Austin Community College debuts Highland Campus

A shopping center once renowned for being Austin's first regional mall is now an institution for higher learning.

A grand-opening celebration was held Aug. 27 for the new ACC Highland Campus, a 200,000-square-foot facility complete with classrooms, library, study areas and The ACCelerator, a high-tech mathematics learning lab with more than 600 computer stations.

ACC and Austin-area officials welcomed more than 800 visitors to the new campus, which opened classes Aug. 25 with 3,900 enrollees, well above the college's projected 3,000 students, ACC President Richard Rhodes said.

The transformation of the former JCPenney building, which "looked like World War II bunker" when construction first started, Rhodes said, includes many new windows and a skylight to allow natural light into the new campus building.

The result "is a learning environment that is unmatched in the country in size and scope," Rhodes said, calling the ACCelerator lab the nation's largest.

ACC is in the midst of finalizing a master plan for the rest of the former Highland Mall, which first opened in 1971 and will close retail operations this year following the holiday shopping season. Money for a second phase of construction is included in a November bond package that, pending voter approval, would provide $152.8 million.

Also, in July, ACC board trustees approved a public-private partnership that potentially brings cloud management technology company Rackspace to the former Dillard's space on the south side of the mall. Rackspace intends to relocate 570 employees to the new Highland Campus by late 2015, according to ACC.