CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — Students and school leaders will break ground Monday on the new student union at Southwestern College. It will offer a wide range of activities and spaces for students to interact with each other. The new facility will also offer several resources.
“College is not only about studying,” said SWC student Sabrina Banuelos. “It’s about community and being able to find yourself. Having these resources can definitely do that.”
The new space will replace the old student union and cafeteria buildings. The new student union will have a bookstore, learning communities, a veterans resource support center, a meditation room, a ballroom, and more.
“I personally feel like we do need more at this school this is a big addition,” said student Eric Diccion.
This project was funded by Proposition Z. Voters passed the measure in 2016. It was a $400 million bond for Southwestern College to move forward with critical classroom and infrastructure renovations.
“When we took this bond proposal to the voters in 2016, it was with a promise that Southwestern College is going to be the communities college,” said Southwestern College Superintendent-President Mark Sanchez.”It was voted on by the community, and supported by the community. So this is really their space coming to fruition.”
The new student union will cost a little over $100 million. Construction of the 85,000 square-foot space is expected to be completed in the winter of 2024.
“I’m excited because we needed a little bit of an update on campus,” said Banuelos. “It is nice to see that they’re putting the money and the time and resources into improving our campus.”
The groundbreaking was set to begin Monday afternoon.
