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$60M master plan for NMC finally presented to regents
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Posted on Nov 09 2011
A $60-million facilities master plan for the Northern Marianas College that has been in the works since 2009 was finally presented to the Board of Regents yesterday but regents only adopted the project’s principles as they have yet to identify a location for the future campus.
Facilities manager John Guerrero said that the master plan, prepared by NMC consultant BECA International Consultants Ltd., is composed of 10 stages. The entire project is expected to take up to 12 years to complete.
The master plan will guide NMC in how it will develop its campus in the next five to 10, identifying the size and location of new buildings, existing buildings that will be kept, and the sequencing of demolition and construction.
The BECA plan provides space requirement that can be used for any location that NMC may choose but the consultant used the property in As Terlaje for specific stages of the proposal.
NMC president Sharon Hart and Students Services dean Leo Pangelinan urged the board yesterday to approve stage 1 of the project, which includes designing classroom buildings, student center, library, and a lecture hall.
Building D-1 currently serves as the biggest lecture hall on campus but it can only accommodate up to 75 persons. The existing student center has also been identified as too small and “unfriendly” to students, while classrooms need to be modernized to meet program needs such as science laboratories and computer labs.
Based on BECA’s assessment, most of the classrooms in Building A need to be refurbished, relocated, or replaced.
Hart pointed out that approving stage 1 of the plan will serve as a starting point that will move the project forward, while the college continues to explore avenues to secure additional funding.
Stage 1 is estimated to cost $27.5 million. Once approved, NMC will begin looking for consultants who will do the architectural and engineering designs.
