The implementation of an extended Brentwood campus has been discussed amongst administration since 1989. Implementation is on its way and the new facility is expected to be completed in the spring of 2020.

Weather conditions at the site have not been ideal, but the construction management team working on the Brentwood project have yet to report any delays. The site is located off Marsh Creek Road at 1351 Pioneer Square in Brentwood, near the historic residence of homesteader John Marsh.

Currently, the campus is composed mostly of steel framework and corrugated roofing atop concrete foundations. In the future, the space will offer additional classrooms, a library, tutoring space and a bookstore. Parking has been a perennial issue that has plagued both the main campus and Brentwood center.

The new campus will be on 18-acres of land with a designated parking lot, unlike the current Brentwood Center. Vice President of Business and Administrative Services Alexander Porter weighed in on how the stress of the current Brentwood centers’ parking affects pedestrians and students.

“As you know, we share the parking spaces with our commercial neighbors,” said Porter. “This creates an inherent strain, as our students and adjacent business customers compete for a limited number of spaces.”

Large scale projects require means of major financial backing. Constructing the new campus was planned to cost a total of $65 million, primarily funded through capital bonds. Bonds received through “Measure A” (2006) and “Measure E” (2014) will go towards structural improvements on colleges within the district.

Contra Costa Community College District is also funded by the number of students they serve. It is called Full-Time Equivalent Students (FTES) and since the LMC campus in Pittsburg is a full-fledged college the district gets over a million dollars from the state in addition to the FTES bonds.

Aside from sufficient funding, the new Brentwood center had to achieve center status authorization in 2012 to even get the stakes in the ground. Director of Communications and Relations of the Contra Costa Community College District Tim Leong elaborated on how center status can be beneficial.

“Center status means you have reached a specific milestone about the students that you serve, it’s not the same amount of money as a full college,” said Leong. “Nevertheless, it’s now an official designation by the state that says you are of a certain size and we give you 50 percent of what we would normally give a full-fledged college.”

The current Brentwood center previously served a couple classes until they moved into the leased building that used to be a grocery store. Center status was not achieved but the new center will enable LMC to grow the number of students attending in the future.

The resources that will be available at the new campus will be 60 percent larger than the current campus and will ensure students can relax in the spacious complex compared to a cramped corridor. As for the main campus, student Danielle Milton spoke how content she is, but also stressed LMC’s room for improvement.

“Everything is fine here, I mean the reception can be improved and I would say that the new campus needs more space and faculty to make sure the students have the resources they need,” said Milton. “It’s convenient for more people who live in the Oakley and Brentwood area.”

The rate of construction has been concise to the schedule. By next spring the new Brentwood campus will be completed after such lengthy planning.