News Release
Officials Break Ground on 'Green' Building at Upper Bucks Campus
New 26,000-square-foot building will meet top environmental standards, including a geothermal heating system
After seeing the number of students at its Upper Bucks Campus increase fourfold since 1999, Bucks County Community College is moving forward to expand its East Rockhill Township facility.
College officials broke ground Friday, October 3, on a 26,000 square-foot addition to the campus, located on One Hillendale Drive near Perkasie. The new addition will be connected to the existing building, which measures 35,000 square feet.
According to the project’s architect, Shradergroup Architects LLC, the new building will meet the top certification for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), making it a so-called green building. This includes the use of a geothermal heating system, tinted and insulated windows, and vegetation planted on the rooftop to reduce rainwater runoff and help cool the building.
At the groundbreaking, members of the student-run Environmental Club planted a tree to commemorate the project’s concern for the natural surroundings. Those in attendance took home concolor fir tree saplings to plant on their own.
The building will feature more classrooms, including a nursing lab, biology-chemistry science lab, and a learning studio. It will also have a computer lab for CISCO networking training, a large room for assemblies, student commons area, and an outdoor plaza that can also serve as an amphitheater. The building will have wireless internet access, while each classroom will have a computerized teaching station and a “SmartBoard.”
“While we offer six complete associate degrees at Upper Bucks, many students must travel to the Newtown campus to complete other requirements,” says Catherine McElroy, Dean of Academic and Curricular Services. “The addition of classrooms and a science laboratory at UBC will allow the college to expand program offerings on this campus.”
Students are looking forward to having more space for extracurricular activities and gatherings, according to Rodney Altemose, Executive Director of the Upper Bucks Campus.
“Phase two will allow for a great deal of space for students to congregate, which is limited here in a retrofitted bank building,” notes Altemose. “This will allow for student life to grow even more. Student services will be better accommodated as well because there will be dedicated offices and meeting space.”
The existing facility had housed the corporate headquarters of a local bank before the college established its campus there nine years ago. The new expansion is expected to be completed by early 2010. To learn more about Bucks County Community College’s Upper Bucks Campus, visit www.bucks.edu/ucc.
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Assistant Director, Public Relations 215-968-8094/8093 |
