LOCAL

Groundbreaking ceremony held for student living facility at San Juan College

The Daily Times staff

FARMINGTON — San Juan College officials gathered at an undeveloped site on the west side of the campus on the afternoon of Feb. 19 to conduct a ceremony marking the beginning of a project they have long hoped to see become a reality.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the college's planned residential student center featured SJC President Toni Hopper Pendergrass and several other members of the administration. The facility is being built at a cost of approximately $10.5 million and is expected to house 150 students in one-, two- and four-bed units.

More:San Juan College to usher in new era with groundbreaking for student housing housing project

San Juan College President Toni Hopper Pendergrass is all smiles as she takes part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the school's new student housing project on Feb. 19, 2021, on the college campus in Farmington.

The 37,552-square-foot facility will be three stories in height and is being built at the corner of Sunrise Parkway and Education Drive just north of the college's Health and Human Performance Center. The project is scheduled for completion in the spring of 2022, with the first students scheduled to move in that fall.

Boomer Appleman, vice president for student services, left; Chris Harrelson, senior director of the physical plant; Toni Hopper Pendergrass, president; Joseph Rasor, chairman of the San Juan College Board of Trustees; and Edward DesPlas, executive vice president, all toss a shovelful of dirt during a groundbreaking ceremony for a new student housing project Feb. 19, 2021, on the college campus in Farmington.

The center will feature large TV/study areas on each floor, a large common area with a kitchen and an outdoor dining area with a supersize grill.