Progress on SSCC's plan for new campus in Mt. Orab

With a projected opening for Fall 2014, Southern State Community College is making steady progress on plans for its newest campus along state Route 32 in Mt. Orab.

“Our staff has been working extremely hard getting the Brown County campus—the replacement campus for our South Campus—on the drawing board,” said Dr. Kevin Boys, SSCC President, as he addressed the college’s board of trustees during their Sept. 12 meeting. “I thought it would be a good idea for the entire board to look at the progress being made.”

In November, Southern State moved forward on plans to expand the college’s services by accepting a donation of land in Adams County and approving a contract to purchase a 63-acre tract of land at the junction of State Route 32 and Brooks Malott Road in Brown County. The college received proposals from 35 architectural firms, and in March selected BHDP Architects, headquartered in Cincinnati and Columbus.

“One of the first things we do with a client is get all the stakeholders involved and create a vision statement specific to this project,” said Paul Orban, representing BHDP. “The vision that emerged was to create a distinctive, dynamic, inviting and sustainable learning environment that will enhance Southern State’s position as the first-choice destination for students, faculty, staff and the community.

Following the visioning process, the architectural firm conducted focus group meetings with faculty, staff and students. From those collective experiences, BHDP then developed a program of requirements, or an inclusive list of spaces necessary for the new facility.

“The program of requirements begins the roadmap for design,” said Orban. “We identified specific needs, including a community room and public spaces, a learning commons and resource center, general multipurpose classrooms, science labs, nursing labs, HVAC tech labs, a bookstore, administration and faculty spaces, as well as building support and maintenance. We arrived at a total of about 50,000 square feet.

“So then we started to look at your site and the first thing we do is try to understand everything that’s going on. How do we make sure we enable very flexible growth on this site? During this process, Jim Buck got us engaged with the village. They’ve been very good to work with.”

The college has been alongside Mt. Orab Mayor Bruce Lansford, and the village has been instrumental in getting utilities to the site and in securing traffic light approval from the Ohio Department of Transportation.

“From the sustainable side, we’re looking at what’s the best orientation on the site, considering the passage of the sun through the day, the wind patterns, and how do we use this to our advantage,” Orban said.

To follow through on the sustainability initiative, BHDP Architects will pursue LEED Silver Certification for the facility from the United States Green Building Council. According to the USGBC, certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building was designed and built using “strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.”

The architects’ site plan for the new Southern State campus included a layout and strategy for the possibility of future growth.

“Those are future buildings,” Orban said, directing the board’s attention to the site plan. “We’ve included an option for green spaces, parking areas, a bio-retention water feature, athletic fields and a wooded area. This is one of probably about six or eight renditions we put together of how this could lay out. One of the things that came out of this discussion is how does this collection of buildings feel like a campus?

“We’re very excited about where the plan’s going. It’s come a long way in a very short period of time, but I think it’s because we’re working with the right group of people.”

Completion of the initial design phase is expected by late September or early October.

The next step will be the design and development phase, leading to a groundbreaking in March 2013.

Construction is expected to take 18 months and should be complete for an opening to students for the Fall 2014 semester. The college’s expansion plan also includes an additional campus to be built within Adams County.

To learn more about Southern State Community College, please visit www.sscc.edu.

The next meeting of the Southern State Community College Board of Trustees is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, on the college’s Central Campus, 100 Hobart Drive, Hillsboro.