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ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œA lot of our students, they tend to come here, they go to class and they leave because they also have obligations outside of school. They have mothers and fathers or children and grandparents and jobs and so on and so forth,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� he said. ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWe wanted to kind of create a space where they would be able to hang out on campus as much as they wanted to but also give them a space to interact with other students.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

The commons will be constructed on the first floor of the Mountwest headquarters building at 1 Mountwest Way by clearing out the bookstore, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œrepurposingÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� the library and reconfiguring the Student Activity Center. Pell said MCTC is involved in another construction project that would clear out space on the ground floor to install a new bookstore.

Pell said the school will also install study corners as an extension of the first floor commons on the second, third and fourth floors. He said those areas will include chairs with ottomans, tables and couches and will be closed off with a glass wall.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re very excited to be able to have a space that students can kind of call their own, either individually, in groups or club meetings or tutoring. Basically, something that isnÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™t just a classroom or a dedicated conference room or a dedicated meeting room,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� Pell said.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re looking for it to increase the overall comfortability that students have on our campus, but also help us with achieving that student engagement to give them ownership of our campus as opposed to just having to come here to go to class.ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥�

According to Pell, the majority of construction will likely take place during the summer. Still, he said the school is working to make sure there will not be changes to services available to students during construction, although there may be changes in foot traffic patterns.

Pell said although MCTC has not put the project out for bid yet, he anticipates construction starting as early as May, with the majority being finished by December or the following spring.

He said the project is something Joshua Baker has been pushing for since he became president of the college, and it was approved by the board of governors earlier this year.

ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥œWeÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™re making great strides here as a result of the impact Dr. Baker, his vision that heÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥™s bringing to our campus, and we really anticipate the student experience continuing to get better,ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥� he said.