For the first time, a firm timetable of development for the Farmersville Collin College center has been set.
A center will be developed by 2020 on the property located along Hwy. 380 and CR 611 in Farmersville. The Collin College Board of Trustees adopted a revised Master Plan June 28 to include a priority of opening a campus in the southeastern part of the county and opening centers in Farmersville and Celina.
The Farmersville center will be about 60,000 square feet and be administered through the Central Park Campus in McKinney.
“This will be a smaller facility to start with but we can open it and make a difference in people’s lives,” Collin College President Neil Matkin said.
For the focus of the campus, many items are on the table but nothing has been finalized yet, Mankin said.
The Farmersville center will have core classes that can be transferred out to four-year universities and the district’s board is looking at other specialized offerings such as workforce courses.
“Farmersville is eventually going to grow and we will be there to offer educational opportunities to those students,” Matkin said.
The location selected for the southeastern portion of the county is in Wylie.
In simultaneous meetings held last week, Wylie City Council and Collin College trustees took the first step toward construction of the campus in Wylie.
Wylie City Council voted to donate 43.68 acres of land as the site of a campus and Collin College trustees voted to accept the property and authorized Matkin to purchase two other tracts in Wylie for the campus.
“We are extremely pleased and proud that Wylie will be the site of the newest Collin College campus, expanding the educational opportunities for students, not just from Wylie, but for miles around,” Wylie Mayor Eric Hogue said.
Location of the campus, which will serve 7,500 students, is on Country Club Road, across from City Hall and just north of FM 544.
The campus will include three buildings encompassing 360,000 square feet. Construction is expected to start within three years and the campus will open in 2020.
Approval of a master plan, revised every few years, included a new campus to serve southeast Collin College with additional centers in Farmersville and Celina, and an interlocal agreement approved acceptance of the land donation from Wylie.
College trustees approved a plan to reimburse operating funds required for the project from a future bond issue, if needed, up to $10 million, and expenditure of $1.8 million to purchase two tracts of land to increase the campus footprint in Wylie.
Collin County is expected to reach a population of 2.4 million residents by 2040, and the booming residential and commercial growth has put pressure on the local labor market for more college credentials. In 2015, the college’s trustees began a long-range master planning process that included in-depth studies on demographics, educational statistics, labor market demand, community impact and academic program opportunities.
“Our community needs this expansion, and it will be a significant milestone in the college’s new master plan,” Matkin said. “Collin College can deliver the top-quality college education for the lowest tuition in the state. This is a spectacular point in North Texas history, and the board is very excited to expand and reach students throughout our service area.”
Staff Writer Joe Reavis contributed to this story.
By Wyndi Veigel – News Editor | news@farmersvilletimes.com
Source: Farmersville Times
