Kennebec Valley Community College (KVCC) has begun the largest expansion in its 43-year history.
Thanks to a $10.85 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation, KVCC has acquired the central campus of the former Good Will-Hinckley(GWH) School, which encompasses approximately 600 acres of land and more than a dozen facilities including an academic building, modern recreation center, and farm.
Officially announced at a press conference at the Blaine House in Augusta on Jan. 23 2012, the acquisition sets the stage for a new chapter of growth at KVCC that will dominate affairs at the College for many years to come.
“We are deeply excited by the opportunities this expansion will bring to the region and our students,” KVCC President Barbara Woodlee said. “Much work lies ahead to make our vision for this new campus a reality, but we welcome the chance to position the College for a new era.”
In May of last year, the new campus was officially named KVCC’s Harold Alfond Campus to acknowledge the generosity of the late philanthropist Harold Alfond and the Foundation that bears his name.
The Alfond Foundation’s gift will enable the Maine Community College System to expand the capacity of KVCC by an additional 1,500 to 2,000 students by refitting and augmenting the acquired property - located seven miles north of KVCC’s current Fairfield campus.
A detailed master plan for the Alfond Campus is now in development. Meanwhile work to stabilize older structures and upgrade or modify existing infrastructure there is already underway.
The property includes a mix of fields, woods, and wetlands on the west side of U.S. Route 201 roughly bounded to the south by Green Road and to the north by Martin Stream. The parcel also includes frontage on the Kennebec River to the east of 201.
Major structures acquired include the Alfond/Averill School building, the Alfond Recreation Center, Moody Memorial Chapel, and the former Good Will-Hinckley farm. Numerous smaller structures are also part of the purchase.
While much remains to be decided through the master planning process, proposed development in the near-term includes:
* Establishing an agricultural sciences degree program at the farm and upgrading the farm facilities.
* Adding new parking areas on the edge of the campus core, while removing parking in the interior as part of efforts to create a more pedestrian-friendly campus.
* Adding a visitor’s center to the farm portion of the property.
* Adding a new campus entrance and drop-off loop on the Route 201 side of the campus.
* Building a classroom addition on the Alfond/Averill school building.
Ultimately, development over the next two decades may include the addition of a large auditorium, construction of residence halls for students, further development of a central campus green, expansion of parking areas and roadways, and the addition of a cafeteria.
The planning process included a public forum in early May of last year that yielded additional ideas for the campus that are being considered as the process moves forward.
Though geographically separated, the current KVCC campus and the new campus will be tied together by technology. As programs begin utilizing the new campus the expansion is expected to generate additional jobs for the area.
For KVCC these are exciting times. The acquisition has increased the College’s acreage tenfold. Programs that would have been impossible at the current campus are suddenly feasible. A campus less than two decades old has been joined by one with more than a century of history.
While challenges abound, the opportunities afforded by the new Alfond Campus have positioned KVCC to grow far beyond anything envisioned before. The College will be proceeding carefully as that process unfolds, guided by the needs of its students and a desire to be a good steward of the historic property.
