Spoon River College bought a former retail building on Macomb’s east side in 2006 with the dream of turning it into the college’s new Macomb campus.
Nearly two decades later, that dream has finally come true and was celebrated with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday afternoon.
“It feels great to be able to celebrate with the community because it really is the community’s college,” said SRC President Curt Oldfield.
“And it’s great to be able to have everybody here to see this space and to know that it’s got a lot of life left in it and we’ll be impacting students for a long time in the future.”
He estimated a couple hundred people showed up for the event inside the building at 2500 E. Jackson St.
The celebration event took place even while students were attending classes there.
‘It’s always been a dream’
Sonya Hamilton of Colchester is one of those students. At age 61, she is not a traditional college student.
Hamilton has wanted to be a nurse since she was 18, but could not afford nursing school at the time so she became a dental assistant.
Since then, she’s gotten married and raised a family, and she’s been employed in doctor’s offices and as an EMT.
Currently, Hamilton works in the emergency room at Memorial Hospital in Carthage.
Now, she’s pursuing her dream from more than 40 years ago.
“I enjoy taking care of patients, and being a nurse knowing that you’ve helped someone or saved someone. It’s just something I’ve always wanted to be able to do,” she said. “It’s always been a dream.”
Despite her many years in the field, Hamilton said the in-depth education she’s receiving at the community college is teaching her new skills.
Her goal is to work as an R.A. at Memorial Hospital.
Room to grow
Oldfield said about 300 students are taking classes at the new campus, and there is enough space there to double that.
Oldfield said there is still a bit of work to do on the building. He said the section for the administrative offices and bookstore is not yet finished.
“We intentionally shelled that space off so we could make sure all of the labs and all of the classrooms were finished,” Oldfield said.
He also said SRC is receiving $1 million in federal funding through U.S. Senator Dick Durbin’s office for a heating, ventilating, and air conditioning classroom and an advanced manufacturing classroom that are not yet completed.
He believes work will begin in January and those classrooms will be ready for the start of next school year.
A mix of funding sources paid for the renovation
SRC said the state invested a $6.2 million grant through its Rebuild Illinois Capital program to help pay for the project.
The college said it also received $1 million in congressionally directed funds to support rural healthcare expansion.
In addition, the college used $10 million in local funding, and Graham Health Services invested $250,000 to pay for development of the Spoon River College School of Nursing and Allied Health Learning Lab on the new campus.
SRC’s Macomb campus had been located in the former high school building at South Johnson and West Washington streets.
The community college bought the site on East Jackson Street in 2006, and opened the SRC Office of Community Outreach in a portion of the building in 2009.
The rest of the building remained vacant until now.
Construction began about a year ago on the remaining 66,000 square feet, which has been renovated to include classrooms, simulation labs, support services, and office areas.
SRC’s main campus is in Canton. In addition to the new Macomb campus, the community college also has learning centers in Rushville and Havana. SRC’s service area includes portions of Fulton, Knox, Mason, McDonough, and Schuyler counties.
‘An investment in our future’
The ribbon cutting ceremony included several speeches. A few excerpts:
Lisa Hennigh, Deputy Director of Construction for the Capital Development Board: “One of my favorite features of the design is the layout which imitates a downtown square. Just as every town square brings essential services and gathering places in one accessible location, this new facility puts everything students need within reach.”
Kevin Meade, Chair of the SRC Board of Trustees: “The possibilities of what we’re going to do in this building are enormous. When you come back 5-10 years from now, you won’t see the same things here because we’re going to change. We’re going to evolve as business changes. The students that are in this building today, many of them will work in industries that do not exist today. We can’t imagine what those will be, but whatever it is, we’ll train for that because we do that here.”
SRC student Justice Keene: “When we’re investing in students and providing them with opportunities, we are investing in the future of Macomb. And that’s exactly what this campus represents: an investment in our future.”
Macomb Mayor Mike Inman: “We talk about how this building was transformed from a former retail space into what you see now, much like the transformative power that students receive once they walk through the door and the education they get at this institution by the faculty, staff, administration, and more that support them.”
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