New Facilities and Construction Updates
Listed below are the five new building projects that were made possible through Measure E and Measure C funding. The impressive and expansive building construction will create modern learning and classroom spaces which will provide students with the training and education to secure jobs for tomorrow’s workforce.
Parking Structure
The new Fresno City College Parking Structure located on Weldon Avenue near Blackstone opened at the end of 2022. A ribbon cutting ceremony was held celebrating the opening on November 30, 2022.
The five-level structure, one of only a few in the City of Fresno, has 864 total parking stalls with an additional 125 stalls in adjacent lots. The $18.3 million project is funded through Measure C passed by the voters in 2016. The contractor is Bomel Construction Inc. Students will be able to park for free until Fall 2023 when parking permits will again be required on campus.
In addition, existing surface parking lots were analyzed for recommended reconfiguration in an effort to gain additional stalls throughout the campus. Future phases will result in reconfiguring existing surface lots creating approximately 722-749 additional stalls throughout the campus.
West Fresno Center
The beautiful new West Fresno Center opened with an official Ribbon Cutting ceremony on January 25, 2024. The new center sits on 39 acres with 110,000 square feet of instructional space. It consists of two buildings: the Academic Building and the Advanced Transportation Center.
The new center provides the West Fresno community with a complete college center offering diverse educational opportunities, from transferable college credits to career technology courses. In addition to general education classes, students can study social justice, public health, and medical assisting, plus take pre-requisites for nursing and other allied health programs.
The Academic Building was the first to open. Classes began in August 2023. The Advanced Transportation Center, the second building to open, welcomed students for the first time in January 2024. The Advanced Transportation Center will consolidate all FCC automotive technologoy, diesel technology, and auto collision repair technology programs. Other CTE (Career and Technical Education) programs being offered include, welding and warehouse logistics.
The $86.5 million project is funded by $70 million from facilities bonds and $16.5 million allocated by the City of Fresno from the Transformative Climate Community (TCC) program. TCC funding assists disadvantaged communities with neighborhood projects that provide local economic, environmental, and health benefits while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the City of Fresno is providing $11 million in off-site improvements.
First Responders Campus
The First Responders Campus opened with an official Ribbon Cutting ceremony on Friday, October 20, 2023. The facilities include the Fire and Police Academies along with the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) program that is on a 40-acre site. Currently, there are 55,000 square feet of training and classroom space that occupies 20 acres. The facility is located at 3300 E. North Ave.
The new campus brings together all Fresno City College first responder programs— Fire and Police academies, Advanced Officer Training, State Fire Training courses, the Probation Academy, the Juvenile Corrections Academy, and the Emergency Medical Technician program (EMT) into one 40-acre location. The Fire Academy and EMT program had been housed at the FCC Career and Technology Center on Annadale Avenue and the Police Academy moved from the main campus.
The new facility includes state-of-the-art tools to train cadets in the newest equipment available. There are fire training structures, a scenario village, mock jail, simulation spaces. a running track, and a driving pad with room for expansion. The majority of the funding for the $46.1 million project came from the 2002 Measure E ($45m) with $1.1 million coming from the 2016 Measure C.
Construction by Bush Construction, Inc. began in February 2022. The campus was designed by PBK Architects. The modular building construction contract was awarded to American Modular Systems.
Child Development Center
The Fresno City College Child Development Center (CDC) officially opened with a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 11, 2024. The CDC is located on the corner of University and Blackstone Avenues, across from Ratcliffe Stadium.
The beautiful two-story building is 22,000 square feet and houses programs in early education and childcare services. The building has contemporary features that include a commercial kitchen for meal preparation to serve breakfast and lunch to children and observation rooms that allow FCC students to observe teaching activities without disturbing the toddler and preschool classes. There are also several outdoor playground spaces for the children to play and explore.
Unique to the building design is a college classroom that is separated from the childcare spaces and faculty offices for childcare program teachers and faculty. All childcare, student observation spaces, and commercial kitchen functions occupy the first floor. The second floor features the college classrooms, faculty offices, break rooms, and meeting rooms.
The CDC is state licensed and accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children. The Center provides a safe and rich learning environment for young children ages two through five years. It offers three associate in science degrees and six certificate programs, including a transfer degree option. The program addresses the certificate, licensing and training requirements needed for a person to enter a number of occupations in early childhood education and childcare. The job opportunities in the Fresno-Clovis area are very good and the demand for the program is high.
New Science Building
The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Science Building was held on Thursday, April 21, 2022 at the site near Weldon and Blackstone Avenues. The new structure will serve as the new “front door” to the campus.
Construction on the $87 million project is near completion and will be completed and ready for classes spring semester of 2025. The new Science Building allows growth in biology, chemistry, engineering and physics. The remainder of the division will remain in the current Science Building. Funding consists of $79 million from the 2016 Measure C facilities bond, $5 million from Fresno Unified School District, and $3 million from the FCC budget.
The 87,000 square foot building is three levels featuring modern labs across the science disciplines that include biology, chemistry, engineering, and physics. Tutoring spaces and flexible study areas will be available for students.
In addition to part of the Science and Engineering Division it will also offer additional education space to Design Science Middle College High School, continuing a great partnership with Fresno Unified School District. Design Science Middle College High School offers a dual enrollment program that gives students the possibility to earn a high school diploma and an associate degree at the same time.
