The Student Union Complex is on track to open at the beginning of the spring 2020 semester. Its arrival is set to come after the new Kinesiology and Athletic Complex finished before schedule at the Los Medanos College Pittsburg campus. 

The new addition to the LMC campus will be fit for many clubs and on campus groups such as Umoja, Honors and Student Life, as well as a new cafeteria, food pantry, book store and a lounge area for students. 

“In a way, it kind of shifts a little bit of those functions [cafeteria and bookstore] from that side of campus to the main artery,” said contractor Kevin Little.

There is no current space dedicated for students to lounge and loiter on campus. This new kind of building will establish a more well rounded community for students.

“I think the opening will allow students from different learning communities and majors to meet each other and network,” said LMCAS president Thyra Cobbs, “I expect that the new student union will be the hang out for everyone when it opens.”

Having a new space for the bookstore and cafeteria will leave the spaces in the College Complex Level Three vacant for the upcoming semester, but the Veterans Center will remain untouched. There are currently no plans for what administration plans to do with the old spaces. 

“Usually they knock down old buildings, but it’s hard to do that with the CORE. The bookstore will be closed down, but we will still have Veterans Center and cafeteria for spring,” said Vice President of Business & Administrative Services Carlos Montoya.

With the new space and kitchen for food, there may also be new vendors coming to LMC. Multiple requests for approval will be taken to see who will fit into the new food space and depending on who answers them, there may be a chain in the new building. The current cafeteria is set to still be in use while the new vendors are searched for.

“There will be a delay before food vendors move into space,” said Montoya.

The two new additions to the campus started construction in 2017 and were set to finish Dec. 25 and open for the next semester. 

The new lobby area is “one of the largest conference areas in [the] Contra Costa district,” with three conference rooms all fitted with dividers running across the ceiling to separate the one large room into three separate rooms, said Little. Each conference room comes with drop down projection screens and acoustics. 

This space is student oriented, meaning it will be inviting and comfortable for students to spend their time between classes with ping pong tables, lots of furniture and modern architecture.

“The idea is if you keep students on campus longer they graduate quicker,” said Little.

Along with the new spaces for the different groups of students, there will be a prayer/meditation room, advisors’ offices and a balcony on the second floor that will have three tables and 16 chairs for more lounge space.

“I am thrilled about the opening of the new building,” said dean of Student Success Dave Belman. “Not only will it provide many LMC programs with enhanced spaces for students to engage and collaborate with each other, but it will also provide new opportunities for all LMC students to gather and build community in spaces like the Student Lounge and events in the new Conference Center.”