Washtenaw Community College is considering a new satellite campus and downtown Ann Arbor is at the top of its list.
The college's leadership seriously considered signing a lease for 30,000 square feet of space in the Talley Hall Building (behind Border's downtown location) but backed away when budget constraints pushed the option onto the back burner. McKinley then offered the space at $10.50 a square foot with an option to build out the space.
"The price was very, very attractive," says Larry Whitworth, president of Washtenaw Community College. "We almost struck a deal with them."
That hammer never swung because the state's budget cuts to higher education funding, its need to contribute more to retirement funds and decreasing local tax revenues. The expansion into downtown Ann Arbor seems at least two or three years down the road.
"At this point we're waiting for an economic rebound in Washtenaw County," Whitworth says.
What made downtown Ann Arbor attractive is the fact that it's the county's main population center and could serve as the gateway for patrons from the west side of the county. The primary reason for this is because downtown serves as a mass transit hub for the county. Plus, the college's main campus (east of Ann Arbor) makes the idea of a downtown Ypsilanti campus redundant.
"We do an extremely good job serving the eastern side of the county," Whitworth says.
Source: Larry Whitworth, president of Washtenaw Community College
Writer: Jon Zemke
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