NIACC makes significant growth statement with facilities master plan

By Globe Gazette, Mason City

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In a time when it would be easy enough, even justified, to go with the status quo, North Iowa Area Community College is making a significant growth statement.

The NIACC board of directors has endorsed a facilities master plan that would enhance the college's reputation and aesthetics.

It includes redeveloping campus housing, enhancing outdoor attractions such as the lakes on the north end of the campus and building an addition to McAllister Hall for a health and bioscience center.

NIACC was one of the first community colleges to have student housing on campus and it is well-used. But it is also showing its age.

College President Debra Derr, in her talks with the Globe Gazette Editorial Board prior to the successful instructional equipment levy election in September, discussed the need for modern housing to attract today's students.

The master plan calls for just that, featuring traditional dorms as well as smaller apartments and cottages.

Other enhancements would be a courtyard in the housing area for varied leisure activities, and continued development of the lakes to perhaps include a waterfall or fountain feature.

Together, it sounds like the new housing and lake project would provide an extremely attractive package for students looking for on-campus housing.

The health and bioscience center to be built on McAllister Hall, the first permanent building on the campus, would seem to fit well with NIACC's mission of delivering educational programs tailored to local employment needs, given Mason City's status as a regional medical hub, as well as for transfer to advanced institutions.

Brad Leeper from Invision Architecture, which developed the master plan, and Derr both stressed that the facilities plan is for the long-term, going beyond the next five years.

“Some of it may never get done,” Derr said.

But teams will prioritize items in the plan and the administration will present projects to the board individually.

Even though we won't see any dirt turned until the time's right, it is encouraging to see NIACC thinking on a big scale.

The college hasn't had a master plan for the campus since it was built in the late 1960s. This plan is brimming with potential.

The administration and board are to be commended for looking to the future and providing another roadmap for taking the college there.