OTC looking at financing for building projects

Ozarks Technical Community College's Board of Trustees approved a plan Monday to acquire up to $10 million in financing for capital improvement projects in Hollister, Lebanon and Springfield.

Funding for the construction projects will come from bonds, according to OTC spokesman Joel Doepker, while the college is still pursuing other funding sources for infill projects.

OTC already is looking for a facility or site for the Hollister Education Center. The school plans to spend $5 million to complete the facility, according to a news release.

Another $3 million is planned for infill costs at the new Lebanon Education Center, including classrooms and parking lots. That facility is the result of a $2.6 million donation in December from Reuben and Mary Lou Casey of San Clemente, Calif.

A third project, on the Springfield campus, involves spending $2 million to renovate the large multipurpose room in Information Commons West, dividing the room into two levels and creating 10 classrooms and three offices.

“We will be investing considerable resources into our communities in order to expand our offerings and more effectively serve the citizens in those areas,” OTC President Hal Higdon said in the release. “While we have a significant need for expansions throughout the college, these projects are a great beginning.”

More details about funding should be available by fall. The Lebanon and Springfield projects are expected to be complete by fall 2011, the release said. The Hollister project is dependent on finding an appropriate location.[[In-content Ad]]