San Diego Mesa College broke ground Thursday on two new buildings.
Officials from the community college district were on hand to celebrate the transformation of old buildings into more than 200,000 square feet of new space.
Construction actually began months ago, but because of scheduling conflicts the official groundbreaking could not happen till now.
One of the buildings will be called Mesa Commons and the other the Exercise Science Center.
The commons will cost $44.3 million and be two stories high with a new cafeteria and bookstore. It’s going to house the culinary arts program and features a rooftop garden.
The Exercise Science Center will cost $15.3 million and house the athletics department. San Diego Community College Chancellor Constance Carroll said the quality of these buildings will match the quality of Mesa’s teachers.
“Mesa College could easily be a university because of the tremendous qualifications of the faculty,” Carroll said. “Now the facilities will match the excellence of the people who work here. It’s just wonderful.”
Funding for the new facilities comes from more than $1.5 billion in voter-approved bond measures.
