Odessa College’s Vision 2030 Plus initiative is moving along and there are more plans in the works.
Vice President of Administrative Services Ken Zartner said the venture is so much more than a capital campaign.
The Wood Health Sciences Building, James Segrest Stadium and creating a presence downtown are just some of the items in store.
JSA Architects is in the final phase of completing construction documents on the Wood Health Sciences Building.
“They’re almost there and the construction documents are really the last phase before we go out to bid,” Zartner said.
“We anticipate the construction document phase and the package being ready to go to the board in February and opening bids as early as March 1 …,” Zartner said.
He added that construction should be ready to start as soon as the contract is awarded.
“So things are moving really, really quickly on that project and going along really smoothly. Behind the scenes, we’re also doing a lot of underground work that people may not see. We’re moving … gas lines, moving fiber and different things so the health sciences building is in the works and we are excited about that project,” he added.
James Segrest Stadium is another project currently going on. It will replace the current outdoor track area.
“If you drive down University (Boulevard) and take a look, we have field goal posts up and the contractor is doing some great work there. The estimated completion time of Phase I is Feb. 8, but they’re actually trending ahead of the timeline as long as the weather holds up. So Phase I of that project is almost complete and we’re really, truly excited about that,” Zartner said.
Phase I of the track project includes athletic turf, goal posts, soccer goal posts and more.
Phase II will include all the flatwork that surrounds the track — the concrete, the stadium, the seating and the main front entranceway.
“We’re doing a little bit of Phase II right now as you can see if you drive down University. We’re removing a lot of trees and we’re doing a lot of things to prepare for Phase II, but right now we’re committed to completing Phase I,” Zartner said.
Schematic designs have been finished for the downtown project, to be located at 222 E. Fourth St., the former Odessa American building.
“… The project is going to come in anywhere from $2.5 to $2.7 million for Phase I. We have around $650,000 committed from the college and a couple pending possible connections to help move the funding along for that,” Zartner said.
They anticipate having a groundbreaking ceremony after the holiday break in January.
“We’ll probably hold it at the Marriott and then do something more on the ground when we’re ready to break ground,” he said.
“At the same time in the background, we have the architects really drawing all the construction documents for that as well. The way it’s working, we should have both the HSB and downtown project ready to go to the board and go out to bid around the same time early next year. That project is moving along. We’re really excited about that, as well. And then in the backside of things, we have a lot of stuff that’s going in motion as well. We’re planning for new student housing, a 192-bed facility. It’s really in the early phases.”
The downtown project is two phases, as well, Zartner said. Phase I is the green space and performance venue. Phase II is the academic building that would be a business incubator.
The green space will be an area that can host a variety of community events like Hot Summer Nights or the Music Master Series.
“It’s going to have … one large performance stage that will actually be on the south end of the … area. It would be equivalent to what OHS has as their performance area,” Zartner said.
“On the opposite side, there will be a seating area which would have a canopy area as well that can also serve as a performance stage and then in the middle of the area they’ll have another canopy area that would serve even as a smaller performance stage. …”
“You would have men’s and women’s restrooms, beautiful flatwork, trees, lighting, all sorts of things just to make the place look really special because downtown is special. I think this would really attract people to come into downtown. … It’s going to have (a) splash pad, pavers, a performance canopy, a multipurpose lawn area, a leisure canopy … We’re going to have a small and large pet park. We’re going to have men’s and women’s restrooms,” plus sculptures, food vending and other features, he said.
Zartner said they will cut the curb to about 18 inches to allow food trucks to park straight without blocking traffic. Electrical outlets will be installed so the food trucks can plug in without generator noise.
Wilkerson Hall 2, an academic building, also is in the early planning phases.
“We’re going to be doing some renovations early in the spring to our machine shop lab. We’re going to start a construction program in there … so all sorts of things are happening for Vision 2030,” Zartner said.
Odessa College grew to more than 8,000 students this fall, which was the 14th year of enrollment growth.
“I think we’ll be at Vision 2030 and our goal of 10,000 (students) before we know it, so things are really, really good here at the college,” he said.
Starting in January, Zartner said he will be on Twitter posting weekly updates on Vision 2030 plus.
“I think there are so many things that go on behind the scenes that it looks like nothing’s really happening, but in reality, we are running 1,000 miles an hour,” Zartner said.
The health sciences building is expected to be complete in spring 2024.
“… There’s just so much that has to go in once the building is complete to really outfit and get it ready for furniture and structures and all sorts of different things, but spring of 2024 is the completion of that building,” Zartner said.
Fundraising is ongoing for equipment for the building.
“… Just the technology to run that equipment is $1 million, so there’s about $5 million worth of equipment needs still in that facility. Medical Center has been a phenomenal partner for us and continues to advocate for us and to help us through this process.”
Asked if the Wood Health Sciences Building will help attract enrollment, Zartner said OC does a “million different things” to increase the number of students attending.
“… I don’t know what thing out of those million really works, so maybe it’s all million of them but we’re doing something right as we saw that 14 percent enrollment increase. Most colleges are struggling to grow or maintain before what happened with the pandemic. But I think as far as this building is concerned this is going to be one of the most attractive healthcare training facilities in the state, so I think with our ability and our growth now we can grow our programs by 50 percent by some, 100 percent on others. So absolutely it’s going to help with growth and with enrollment and all of the things that come with it.”
“… I think as a young person dreaming about your future you’re going to want to come here …,” Zartner said.
