Delivering on a promise to commit more resources to Fort Lupton, Aims Community College broke ground on their newest expansion on the grounds of their south campus.
The Greeley-based institution now lays claim to an official campus in Fort Lupton, with the addition of a second building doubling their current footprint in the community. The $9-million investment will provide classrooms and labs for new degree programs now being offered by Aims, along with a host of other improvements.
Earlier this year Aims Community College began offering new degree programs in Agriculture Business, Agriculture Production, and Oil and Gas Energy Technology. The new building will house classrooms and labs specifically for those programs. Plans call for having the building ready for use by the fall semester of 2013. The facility will offer added benefits such as flexible classrooms designed to provide the community with meeting space able to handle groups of up to 200.
Gathering for the event, Aims President Marsi Liddell thanked the community and Aims trustees for their support, noting that the campus expansion demonstrates the college’s commitment to Fort Lupton, despite earlier beliefs among some in the community that the recession was forcing Aims to scale back their participation at the south location.
“There was a time several years ago during the downturn when people thought we were going to close this campus,” Liddell said. “Well, I’m here to tell you that is not going to happen, and we are here today to add to this campus for the community of Fort Lupton, for the students and for the future.”
Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway in turn thanked the college and the city of Fort Lupton for their teamwork in bringing the expansion to fruition. He specifically noted the local commitment to oil and gas, a boon to the state coffers.
“This groundbreaking today is being met with great excitement within the oil and gas industry,” Conway said. “Weld County is helping to lead the economic rebound in the state of Colorado. You are going to find in the coming days a jobs report that talks about the important contributions that Weld County is making in terms of job growth throughout the state. Much of that is related to activities in the oil and gas field.”
Fort Lupton Mayor Tommy Holton summed up the excitement on behalf of the city.
“What a great day for the city of Fort Lupton, Aims Community College and all of south Weld County,” Holton said. “Ag and oil are the backbone of Weld County. Having those programs come here is fantastic.”
Contact Staff Writer Gene Sears at
gsears@metrowestnewspapers.com.
Keeping their commitment
