Lone Star College System officials are continuing to search for a site for the LSC-Magnolia Center, LSC-Montgomery President Rebecca Riley said. This process launched in November 2014, after voters approved a $485 million bond referendum, which includes funding for the LSC-Magnolia Center.

The proposed 65,000-square-foot center will serve as a satellite campus for LSC-Montgomery and is estimated to cost $25.6 million, LSCS officials said.L

While many sites have been explored, a final site has not been selected, Riley said. LSCS officials have not released a timeline for the project or outlined which training programs the center will offer.

Riley said the ease of access is key to choosing a location for the new center.

“As residents of Magnolia know, there are numerous projects planned or underway that will ease mobility in the area,” she said. “Our goal is to choose a site that makes it easy for students and community members to reach the center.”

The selected location must also be within the system’s budget—a challenge that comes with increasing property values, Riley said.

“It is not legal for us to pay more than appraised value for any property,” she said. “This can make site selection in a rapidly developing area a bit more difficult, but we continue to do our due diligence.”

Local officials said several major roadways under construction in the Greater Magnolia area, including extending the Tomball Tollway—the tolled portion of Hwy. 249—and constructing an FM 1488 overpass at FM 149, are expected to spur development and improve traffic flow and mobility. According to the Texas Department of Transportation, crews are scheduled to complete the overpass by the second quarter of 2018 and the extension of the Tomball Tollway through Montgomery County by 2020.

However, Riley said selecting a site for the LSC-Magnolia Center has not been held up by pending road projects.

As the area grows, a nearby LSCS campus would create additional opportunities for Magnolia ISD students, said Michael Daniel, career and technical education director. As it stands, MISD students must travel to Tomball, Houston or Conroe to attend LSCS classes.

In addition to MISD’s workforce and dual-credit programs with LSC-Montgomery, LSCS offered classes last fall at Magnolia High School.

“The Lone Star College-Magnolia Center will benefit our students as a convenient, affordable higher educational pathway to earn credits transferable to a four-year university or to learn a skill for the workforce,” Daniel said.