HOLLAND TWP. — Trustees at Grand Rapids Community College have voted to purchase a former JCPenney store in Holland Township to convert it into a consolidated Lakeshore campus.
The site is located at the Shops at Westshore mall near the intersection of U.S. 31 and James Street. GRCC’s board of trustees voted Monday to purchase the 50,000-square-foot building with an expected purchase price of $2 million.
GRCC President Bill Pink
COURTESY PHOTO
“GRCC is committed to serving Lakeshore learners of all ages,” board Chairperson David Koetje said in a statement. “This building’s location and size will provide the opportunity for more people to have access to the programs the GRCC Lakeshore Campus offers, improving and potentially transforming their lives.”
The new Lakeshore campus building will allow the college to consolidate programs and student support services in a larger space, increase employer and educator partnerships and enhance learning and teaching, according to GRCC.
This fall, about 1,900 Ottawa County residents are enrolled at GRCC; about 700 are taking classes in four Lakeshore locations.
The new building will allow GRCC to expand programs. Leadership will look for input from educators and community leaders on what programs would be most beneficial.
“This location enhances GRCC Lakeshore campus’s ability to be relative and responsive to our West Michigan communities,” GRCC President Bill Pink said in a statement. “Our college is uniquely positioned to help learners connect or reconnect with higher education. We’re proud of what we provide at the Lakeshore Campus now, and are excited to think about how we can impact lives there long into the future.”
The building requires renovations for its conversion into an educational facility. The goal is to hold classes in the Lakeshore campus by fall 2021.
The college will transfer programs from the four other Lakeshore locations.
