This podcast is comments from Blinn College projects director Mark Feldhake from the January 19, 2021 Blinn board of trustees meeting.

Groundbreaking takes place next month on Blinn College's next academic building on the Texas A&M system's RELLIS campus.

That's after Blinn trustees on Tuesday night approved project director Mark Feldhake's recommendation to negotiate a construction contract on the three story building.

Completion of the more than $32 million dollar project, weather permitting, will be in time for fall classes in 2022.

Additional information from Blinn College:

At its regular January meeting on Tuesday, the Blinn College District Board of Trustees authorized the College to negotiate and execute a guaranteed maximum price for a new Phase II academic building on the RELLIS Campus.

The RELLIS Phase II academic building, a three-story, 80,000-square-foot facility located north of the Walter C. Schwartz Building, will position Blinn for continued growth at the RELLIS Campus. As the community college partner in the RELLIS Academic Alliance, Blinn offers foundational courses at the RELLIS Campus that seamlessly apply toward the related bachelor’s degrees offered by The Texas A&M University System regional universities and Stephen F. Austin State University. In Fall 2018, Blinn opened the Schwartz Building with 1,515 students, and Fall 2020 enrollment subsequently has grown to exceed 2,700 students.

The Phase II facility will feature an engineering lab, computer science classroom, information technology lab, esports arena, student services suite, 19 lecture classrooms, study spaces, faculty and administrative suites, and meeting rooms. The project also includes faculty/staff and visitor parking, sidewalks, pedestrian lighting, a circular entry drive, and a plaza.

Construction is scheduled to begin in February, with a substantial completion target of May 2022. The facility will open for student use in time for the Fall 2022 semester.