After more than a decade of record enrollment growth, Montgomery County Community College’s West Campus in Pottstown continues to grow. On Aug. 19, Borough officials and community members joined the College in dedicating the second floor of North Hall with a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Located at 16 High Street in Pottstown, North Hall is a historic site within the community, serving at one time as a brewery, shoe polish factory, mattress factory, wholesale grocery store and a knitting mill. The College moved into the first floor of the renovated facility in 2006.
With the opening of the second floor, the College has added 50,000 square-feet of space to its West Campus. The new space houses seven state-of-the-art smart classrooms, faculty offices, an expanded Learning Assistance Laboratory for tutoring and supplemental instruction, an expanded art gallery, art studio space for painting and drawing, and a digital laboratory for communications, music and computer graphics instruction.
"With the College’s expansion to High Street and its innovative partnership with the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area (SRHA) at the former PECO building on College Drive, the College is poised to continue growing to meet the evolving educational needs the region," said Dr. Karen A. Stout, President. "Coupled with the development of other downtown sites, the College anchors the revitalization of the Pottstown Borough by bringing new and innovative programs and learning opportunities to the community."
Since opening its doors 13 years ago, the College’s West Campus has become the hub of higher education in Pottstown, bringing new and innovative programs and learning opportunities to the community. The West Campus has grown to include a state-of-the-art health careers suite; new degrees in Environmental Science, Culinary Arts, Fine Arts, Radiography and Surgical Technology; a new art gallery to showcase local, regional and national artists; new art studios to support the College’s new Associate in Fine Arts (AFA) degree program; the University Center, which expands access to bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in Pottstown through partnerships with Albright College, Gwynedd-Mercy College and Temple University; and new GED and Accelerated Learning programs that facilitate access to higher education.
"When we first laid out our vision for Pottstown, our goal is to create a campus presence for the College that links the West Campus to the river to the main street of Pottstown,Ó said Dr. Stout. ÒCommunity Colleges are so important to workforce development, continuing education and lifelong learning that we have become the catalyst for revitalization and expansion in Pottstown."
