After a challenging academic year, we are excited to be starting a new chapter on the Marshalltown campus. A new chapter that will include updated facilities which will allow us to better serve our students and our community. These improvements were approved by voters in November 2019 and we are excited to share an update.

The signs of progress are plentiful inside our facilities with the low hum — and oftentimes loud bang — of construction filling the hallways with dust and activity. The interiors of our conference center have already undergone a selective demolition and work crews have started rebuilding the restrooms and the lobby to increase both the functionality and the visual appeal of the space. Next step in the progress will be the refreshing of paint, flooring, technology and lighting as we prepare to reopen the venue to the public during the fall of 2021. Continuing education and the conference center team are excited to welcome the community home.

Further down the hall, visitors are greeted by an empty success center and library which have been relocated to the Student Activity Center to make way for the next round of demolition which is scheduled to start any day now. This space will be reimagined as a central hub for student support and an inviting space for students and visitors to relax and study. This hub will also include new faculty offices, a veterans’ lounge and an updated art gallery. Technology and science are also getting a reboot during the construction with the renovation of the physics lab and four computer labs to meet current needs and the needs of tomorrow. Most of these improvements to the Marshalltown Community College space will be unveiled in January 2022.

The construction activity is set to accelerate the first week in June and passersby will get the first glimpse of the exterior work when heavy equipment arrives to tear up the existing south parking lot to make way for a new parking lot and entry way into the conference center. The work on the remaining lots will follow. The new parking lots will not just improve the appearance but will improve safety, access to the buildings, and the “classroom” experience for our motorcycle and CDL students.

New entry ways will elevate the aesthetics of the campus and make it a warm welcome for people as they enter Marshalltown. The crown jewel of the exterior renovation will be the relocation of Luther Utterback Seven Cubes art installation to a place of prominence on the front lawn.

In addition to the many improvements on the Marshalltown campus, the renovations at the Iowa Valley Grinnell location are progressing and will be completed in August and the Ellsworth dormitory project is close to starting in Iowa Falls.

When the work is complete, we will invite the community to celebrate and tour the facilities but until that time feel free to drive by or stop out to watch our progress; or visit www.iavalley.edu/bond-project-update/. And if you are coming to campus watch for signage on the best place to park and enter- for the near term the west parking lot and Door #1 will be the best option.

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Kristie Fisher is the chancellor

for the Iowa Valley Community College District.