A $320 million project to create four new buildings, remove five and renovate three more at Tarrant County College's Northwest campus in Fort Worth is underway.
On June 17, the TCC board of trustees approved a $105 million contract with Skanska USA, according to a TCC press release. Construction of two of the planned new buildings began shortly thereafter. The project is part of the $837 million bond program Tarrant County voters approved in 2019.
While construction began this summer, the project’s roots extend to 2016, when a severe thunderstorm caused major damage to the campus, said Margaret Lutton, TCC’s executive director of institutional and strategic development.
“We had a major storm that caused a lot of damage, and then it was assessed, and the assessment really led to this redevelopment,” Lutton said.
The first new building—Building 1—will have three levels that consist of the early college high school and science labs, according to the release. The first floor of Building 2 will contain the majority of student development services and a student gathering atrium, while the second will have more student services, testing areas and faculty spaces. The second building’s third level will house more faculty space, administrative offices and general classrooms.
Building 1 and Building 2 are set to be finished in late 2023 “in time to be used as a swing space” to demolish and clear spots for the construction of Building 3 and Building 4, according to the release.
With construction on Building 1 and Building 2 having begun around the same time classes started Aug. 23, students and faculty will be in the heart of the project. But John Posch, program director of the team that is executing TCC’s 2019 bond program, said they have made adjustments to the construction, such as moving construction fences, setting up additional temporary parking and adding temporary wayfinding signage to help faculty and students navigate their way around campus.
“There's also a crew of—they call them the Northwest Navigators—who are out there, including a few people from our project team and some staff in the school, during the first week or possibly two weeks or so to be stationed around the campus to help students find their way around,” Posch said.
Building 3 will contain two floors consisting of art, music and general classrooms, according to the release. To the south of Building 3, Building 4 will house the Learning Commons, bookstore, food services and a multi-purpose center.
As for the existing buildings on the core campus, three—WACB, WHPE and WBSA—will be kept and redone to match the four new buildings, according to the release. These buildings contain maintenance and physical plant functions.
Editor's note: The original post has been updated. The value of the construction project is $320 million and the value of the bond program is $837 million.
