Ribbon cut at College of Coastal Georgia

January 21, 2011 - More than 200 gathered at the College of Coastal Georgia today to celebrate the official opening of the first new building on campus in nearly 30 years. The $15.8 million project provides 45,000-square-feet of instructional space, state-of-the-art laboratories, observation areas, patient exam areas, group study rooms and a 125-seat tiered lecture hall. In addition to serving as the new home for nursing, radiological and clinical laboratory technology programs, other classes will be held in the building to enable all students to benefit from the facility.

The college, which was renamed in 2008 and transformed from a two-year institution into a four-year college, is located in Brunswick. City Commissioner Mark Spaulding, an alumnus of the institution, said, "We've stopped being a town with a college. We're now a college town." Other projects approved for state funding include a $14 million, 352-bed student housing facility and a $12 million campus center, both of which will open this fall.

Dr. Valerie Hepburn, president of the college, praised the construction team responsible for building the Health Science Building. "To finish a project like this is in 12 months is amazing," she said. Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission managed the project on behalf of the college and the state. While the ribbon-cutting ceremony was Jan. 21, classes actually began on Jan. 10.

"This has been a great project to be a part of," said GSFIC Contract Compliance Specialist Eddie Harris. "It's a great addition to the campus and it's been an honor to help manage construction of a facility that means so much to this community." GSFIC Project Manager Luke Nichols echoed those sentiments, adding that the new building and the recently completed AnthonyA.AlaimoPlaza serve as the center of the growing campus.

Quick Facts

  • Design Professional: Perkins+Will
  • General Contractor: Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
  • GSFIC Project Manager: Luke Nichols
  • GSFIC Contract Compliance Specials: Eddie Harris